Wanderer's Diary
by Three Rejects
Summary: Most know of the so-called messiah of the Capital Wasteland, the man known only as the Lone Wanderer. To the righteous, he is a saviour. To the evil, he is a nightmare made manifest. And to those who actually know what he's like as a person, he's a dangerous nutjob with some serious psychological issues.
1. Week One

**Wanderer's Diary: Week One**

**Day 1: The Downward Spiral Begins...**

Okay... where to start...

I guess by explaining things.

See, dad just left the vault. By necessity, this also meant I had to leave the vault, because the Overseer and his people were going after me because of that. I can only carry so much, so I just packed up all the important stuff that was close at hand and ran for it.

By important stuff, I mean my BB gun and some shots for it, baseball, gloves and bat, cap, a few spare vault jumpsuits, dad's bobblehead, since he didn't take it himself for some reason, and that Grognak comic I like.

You'll notice something important was missing from that list - namely my old diary. Which is understandable. I didn't have time to boot up the computer and download and delete everything, being in a rush. Still, this is a problem, and not just because it's irritating to type journals with the Pipboy. I recorded things in those diaries. Private things.

I sure am glad the Overseer is dead.

Oh, yeah. I think I've skipped some details. I killed some people on my way out. Actually, a lot of people. Officer Kendall was first. He came at me after he barely beat back a load of radroaches. He was weakened, and I think his arm was bad. Amata had offered me a gun earlier, but I didn't take it. So I beat him to death with my bat.

I think something's severely wrong with me. I just said that I beat a crippled man to death with my bat, a man I have known for years in fact, and I still don't actually care. Hell, I had a crush on his daughter for a while! And I killed him, and...nothing.

He wasn't the last, either. I killed O'Brian and Richards after they gunned down the Holdens. Snuck up on them, stole their guns, bullet through both their heads. I killed Paul Hannon's dad, the security chief. And on the way out, I killed Wolfe and Park in a melee. And those are just the ones I knew by name. There were others.

I did what I could to stop the bloodshed. Honestly I did. I saved Butch's mom, even though I hate Butch. I tried to talk down the Overseer after I found him and Officer Mack interrogating her about what happened to me, but that didn't work, and I accidentally killed him in the ensuing fist fight. Amata was NOT happy.

But it wasn't like I was the only guy killing people in there. The security officers murdered people in cold blood too, and Amata shot Mack, so she's got no right to talk to me about that. And Jonas! They killed Jonas too! What did Jonas ever do to anyone?

Well, point is, with Amata's help I did indeed exit the vault. She locked it behind me, so now I'm stuck outside. And it has been an adventure, let me tell you. Because the violence didn't stop at the vault door.

There's this town, called Springvale, that was right outside the vault's entrance. It's where I am right now. I'm guessing that makes Vault 101's residents the descendants of the people of Springvale? I don't actually know. I guess so. That would make sense, but it's just idle speculation on my part.

Well, true to what the history books said, the world has in fact been blown to hell by nukes. Though the radiation isn't present anymore, at least not in the immediate area. This Pipboy has a Geiger counter, and it says the air's clean. The same is not true of the water. Or the rain.

That's also something that got me. Weather, and the sky. We learned about that in science classes of course, but it's really something to see these things outside of a text book. They're amazing in their own way, but radioactive water falling from the sky is going to be a problem.

I'm going to have to make sure to never be outside when that's happening. I know there's a drug that can counteract the effects of radiation - RadAway - but I don't have any. There might have been some in dad's clinic if I had searched around now that I think about it, but at the time, the first thing on my mind was not raiding the supplies. I did get some stimpaks from the first aid kit in my room, but I've used up those already.

Anyway, the town's basically destroyed here, but there were two buildings around that were habitable and not boarded up. Those were the school, and a single house where a lady named Silver was living.

When I was in the vault, some terminal entries on the Overseer's computer mentioned that he had sent out scouts years before and found an inhabited town around the area, called Megaton. Silver came from there, fleeing some bastard called Moriarty that thought she owed him. I planned on talking with him, but I got distracted.

The distractions were many. First of all, I discovered from Silver that the local school was inhabited by raiders, which is a term outside people use for thieves and murderers. Pretty much the criminals of the wasteland, even if there is no real "law" out here. Wasteland is also incidentally the term for this whole place. Capital Wasteland to be precise, because pre-war Washington D.C. was the capital of America. Appropriate, I think.

So that was my first distraction. Cleaning the scum out of that school. They decorated the inside of the place with the mutilated bodies of their victims. Charming people.

Fortunately for me, my enemies were idiots. Their armour was just cobbled together crap and their weapons were in shit condition, because they were too stupid to figure out how to repair them.

I however am a super smart vault dweller, with a slightly less crappy piece of damaged armour taken from a vault security guard I murdered, because I'm a morbid individual with no sense of shame, and I had a pistol that was not in shit condition, given to me by Amata, that I had already fixed up with parts from all the other security guards' weapons.

Well, I cleaned that place out, stole anything of value I found in there, (including a book about explosives, a Chinese special ops manual, and a Nuka-Cola bottle that actually glowed), looted the bodies, and then went on my merry way.

I'll say it again, I think something's wrong with me. How many people did I kill today? The vault security and raiders put together adds up to a big number, but I didn't exactly count them. And not once did I ever feel any kind of regret. No remorse at all. I didn't care then, and I still don't care. I was even searching the bodies for anything of value to steal. And that's what's bothering me. I should feel _something_.

Am I a sociopath?

This is something I should talk to dad about when I find him. And I will find him. He can't have gotten far. He was only a few hours ahead of me, after all. When he died, Jonas was carrying a holotape on him, from dad to me, expressing his wishes that I stay in the vault and not pursue him. That wasn't exactly an option by the point I found that tape though.

He and I are going to have words.

Either way, it's late now. I'm staying in Silver's place tonight, and tomorrow I'm going to go up to Megaton and deal with this Moriarty character, while hopefully finding some information on dad's whereabouts.

Tomorrow though. Definitely tomorrow. I've had enough adventure today. I mean, look at this entry; In my old diary, I rarely wrote over two paragraphs. This is a fucking massive wall of text. I hope this doesn't become a trend. If every day in the wasteland is this hectic, I may just die from the stress.

Well, that's enough rambling for now. I'm going to bed now. _After_ I'm done reading these books and listening to the local radio stations and their hosts. These people fascinate me.

**Day 2: Town of the Tards.**

I'm going to start this entry with a simple question: Who builds a town around a bomb?

The people of Megaton do. And they're still alive. Clearly, this is a horrible subversion of the laws of natural selection as I know them, and one so extreme that if they were animals, I would be forced to correct it. This lends credence to my earlier theory that I am a sociopath, but that same theory is also contested by the fact that I have not, in fact, detonated the bomb here and put these people out of their misery. Instead, I saved them. I'm a bit of a jackass like that.

I came into town earlier this morning, where I was greeted first by some old guy begging for water, then by a robot, (not like Andy, this one was a Protectron, not a Mr. Handy), and finally by a black guy dressed like a cowboy named Sheriff Lucas Simms. I thought he was a little weird at first, but I've come to like him. I saved his life later on, but that's skipping ahead a bit.

Simms told me a bit about the town, and naturally, the subject of the nearby undetonated nuclear weapon came up. I offered to disarm it for him, and he had no problem with that. Frankly, if he did, I would have been very concerned. At the time though, I wanted to get my bearings first, so I wandered about town.

I went to Moriarty's first, both for Silver's sake, and because I'd been told he would be the best person to ask about dad. He was an old guy. Spoke with an accent I've never heard before. And his bar was being tended to by a walking corpse.

They're called ghouls. Three Dog, the DJ of one of the two radio stations I was listening to last night, explained a bit about them in one of his news segments for the benefit of ignorant vault dwellers like me. They're really just people who've been disfigured by radiation as far as I can tell, though I'm also told a lot of them have a tendency to go feral and try to kill you on sight. Gob, the bartender, so far has not.

I tried to get some information out of the people around the bar. Moriarty told me that Silver was actually a junkie that had stolen from him, and offered to tell me what I wanted if I could deal with her. I told him to go fuck himself. That means I now had to pay for the information. Fortunately, Moriarty's other prostitute Nova was able to help me. I charmed her into giving me the password to his computer, and looked through his files.

They told me some interesting things, as did he. According to this guy, neither me or dad were born in the vault, and he recalls seeing the both of us many years before when dad was actually trying to get _into _the vault, and I was just a baby. When he told me this himself, I called bullshit, but I don't see any reason for him to lie about a person he's never met to his personal log.

Dad, what else have you been keeping from me?

He also had a few entries on the other people in town, from speculation about their own illicit activities to things he _knows _they've done. The local doctor worked for slavers, the rival bar owner's brother is a junkie, there's a dude called Jericho around who raped a girl, and he also had an entry on Mister Burke.

Burke was in the bar at the time, and he gestured for me to come over as I passed. He wanted me to detonate the bomb in the centre of town and murder everyone. Because he's an asshole. This time, instead of the standard "go fuck yourself" response, I played along until I found out who he was working for, some pricks from a place called Tenpenny Tower, which is my next destination after I'm done here.

I reported him to Sheriff Simms, who went to arrest him and nearly got shot in the back by Burke. I killed Burke before he could, and then I went on and disarmed the bomb, using my fancy vault education and knowledge of explosives that I shouldn't really have with my upbringing but whatever.

As a reward for my heroism, I was given a nice house to stay in, and I say nice in that it keeps me safe from radioactive rain and it does not have a nuke stored in it. I wouldn't have been surprised if it did. These people all give me bad vibes. I think I may actually get stupider if I hang around here too long.

Not that I have much of a choice. This place is looking more and more like it might be my new home. I can't tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing. At least they threw in a free Mr. Handy who dispenses purified water and tells jokes. That was nice of them.

I've also taken more time to listen to the local radio stations, because get this, dad already left Megaton and went off to Galaxy News Radio to meet Three Dog. So I've been listening carefully to anything he has to say. Three Dog's news reports actually mentioned me coming out of the vault at one point. He also said something about a town called Grayditch going quiet, and Tenpenny Tower refusing to allow some ghouls residence. Oh yeah, I'm definitely heading there next.

The other station is much clearer, and that's Enclave radio. I'm not sure what to think about them. Their leader, this President Eden, seems like a stand-up guy. I'd vote for him. He wants to fix this blasted wasteland, and that's a goal I can empathise with. He still does sound a little suspicious at times though. In the same way that the Overseer was. But even the Overseer wasn't all bad. Just kind of a dick, and with a twisted view of what was best for the vault. Their music is not as good though.

The radio stations between them and all the people I've spoken to though have given me a clear list of objectives. Which I will summarise as follows:

1. Go to Tenpenny Tower and facefuck everyone there.

2. Find where these Enclave guys are based, because they sound pretty cool, and less idiotic than my current neighbours.

3. Go see Moira at Craterside Supply, because Simms said she can fix up this shitty house.

4. Take a bottle of purified water to that beggar outside the town if he's still there tomorrow, because he just looks so pathetic.

5. Kill Moriarty, because he's a prick.

6. Go find dad at Galaxy News Radio if I find time.

7. Explore the town a bit.

8. Avoid the following: raiders, slavers, super mutants, Brotherhood of Steel, Brotherhood Outcasts, feral ghouls, mutant wildlife like that fucked up thing I saw today with multiple heads, and rain.

9. Get some fucking RadAway.

And oh look, it turns out I was right about my entries being really long now. This had _really _better not become a trend.

**Day 3: If it Ain't Broke, Ya Still Gotta Do Maintenance.**

From the moment I stepped into town, I pretty much assumed I was the smartest person here. Field research of subjects today confirms this. If I have to spend a significant amount of time around these people, I figured I'd get on the good side of as many of them as possible.

I started with that Leo Stahl guy I heard mentioned on Moriarty's terminal. We did some talking, and I convinced him to quit his habit. His brother and sister appreciated it too. This coincidentally landed me a nice supply of drugs. I don't exactly want to end up like Silver, but my dad's a doctor, and I'm pretty knowledgeable about medicine too; these things do actually have some physical benefits. If I ever get into another fight, they might come in handy. I could use some of this Buffout stuff if I ever have to deal with raiders again.

Next I asked around town and got to know all the people.

Mr. and Mrs. Vargas were this old couple who've been in Megaton a long time. Nathan told me a little bit about the Enclave and how they're a continuation of the U.S. government, which makes me even more eager to meet them, and Manya explained the history of Megaton too, including shedding some light around why they built a town around a bomb and never removed it. Apparently it was this weirdo cult's fault. People who worship the bomb. Church of Atom they're called.

I was surprised to learn that there were in fact two factions that wanted to explode the bomb here who had nothing to do with each other, but the church are unable to actually do it now that I defused the thing, and seem unaware that I ever did it in the first place. And they never made any attempt to force it before. They're just harmless crazies; people to be looked down upon disdainfully, rather than people to shoot. I gave that Confessor Cromwell guy a pity cap.

His wife looks _old _too.

Despite what Moriarty's terminal speculated, I kinda like Billy Creel too. He seems like a genuinely nice guy. A bit like dad, except a dirty wastelander. Okay! Okay! No more vault prejudices. I'll try to stop with the superiority complex now.

His daughter Maggie's nice too, I guess.

I stopped by to see that Doc Church guy too. After what I read on Moriarty's terminal, I want to make sure that this town is safe. For a guy who used to work for slavers, he really didn't act like it. Seemed like an okay guy, just concerned for his patients. And I don't often meet another man of medicine. Not that I was a qualified doctor exactly by the time I left the vault, but I know a fair share. He even sold me some RadAway, so that's one problem solved. I decided that he gets to live.

Then I went to see Moira. She was cheery. Seems a bit delusional and crazy, but she means well. I offered to help her with a project. She's planning on writing a book called the _Wasteland Survival Guide_. Something like that would have been really helpful to have earlier. Being a vault dweller, she thought I could provide the foreword, by recalling life in the vault.

She gave me an armoured version of the vault jumpsuit as payment, apparently made for a previous vault dweller who escaped into the great outdoors but never came back to get it. Hell, I'm not complaining. This thing is _nice_.

So anyway, the first chapter was going to cover treating radiation sickness, so she requested I go out and catch some. I immediately went outside and took a good long drink of that disgusting irradiated water around the bomb, and went back to her with over six hundred rads on me according to the Pipboy. She was extremely pleased. Got her research done, and informed me that I have a permanent mutations thanks to my stupidity. It's benign, but that pisses me off. And all this was still not enough to get a free house refurbishment.

Bitch.

Next it was back up to the bar to deal with some problems. Burke's corpse had already been slung out when I got up there, and I spent the next hour just mingling. I met the water treatment guy, Walter, who got me to go out and fix some pipes around town for him and whom I set up a deal with, where I provide him with scrap metal in exchange for caps. I also met some woman called Lucy West who wanted me to deliver a letter to her brother in some settlement northwards, which I also plan to get to.

And I met this fuckhead Jericho, who was the man who raped Jenny Stahl according to the terminal. He was the last guy on my list to check out. Former raider, and with an interest in returning to the old life too. He did not meet the standards of my "you get to live" trial. I followed him to his house later that night and left a live grenade in his bed. No-one suspected me, because when I later joined the crowd of people hanging around his house and asked what was going on, I had just returned from giving a bottle of my purified water to that beggar outside. (Whose name is Micky, by the way.)

After that, it was dinner with Lucas Simms and his boy, Harden. Them showing their appreciation for all the good I've done. I found a bobblehead like dad used to have in his house, only dedicated to physical strength instead of knowledge of medicine. I stole it while he wasn't looking, because I'm a saint.

Then it was back home after a long day of murder, theft, self harm, and giving water to the thirsty to sit around in my house and pretend like I'm the nicest gosh darn kid this town's ever seen. And to be fair, I've solved pretty much all of their immediate problems in the two days I've been here, so I have done them a lot of good. I just happen to have done it in a very shady way.

Oh, who the fuck cares? So they don't have Jericho to protect them anymore! They've got Simms, and they've got me. What else do they need? Quit complaining, Megaton!

**Day 4: Take a Break.**

Organisation was first priority today. After breakfast. I sorted all the shit I've collected into the appropriate containers. The house came with two sets of lockers.

In one, I stored all my clothes and armour. Those being the jumpsuits from Vault 101, including the utility jumpsuit, and the security armour and helmet from the same place. I got a Tunnel Snakes outfit too. Butch gave it to me for saving his mom. My baseball cap also went in there. I guess I'm keeping it all as a memento. I don't think I'll ever be likely to play baseball again. And that makes me sad.

In the other, I will store my weapons and whatever other miscellaneous crap I collect. So that's where the ball, gloves, and baseball bat go, and my BB gun.

Not the bobbleheads though. There's a stand in the house which conveniently looks like it'll be just perfect for holding a display of bobbleheads. Maybe I can start collecting. Take, buy or steal them wherever they pop up and see if I can get a full set. Because they look to be part of a set. I put the medicine and strength ones on already. They look nice there.

Then I went to see Moira again. I sold her all the crappy guns I got from the raiders I killed. .32s and Chinese pistols mostly. I only have a 10MM pistol, but it's in pretty good condition. I took it from Mr. Burke, and fixed it up with the parts from Amata's gun. I did that rather than the other way around because Mr. Burke's gun has a silencer, and I'd be a fool to not take advantage of that.

And if it turns out to not be enough, I always have the other grenades.

Given the caps I had afterwards, I brought a few stimpaks to keep me going and ordered Moira to put a Nuka-Cola machine in my house. I could have got a jukebox, but I have the Pipboy for now. That Nuka-Cola machine is in here right now, and it certainly brightens up the place. I stole a few bottles of cola out of a vending machine back in Springvale too, and stuck them in there. According to Moira, they should be nice and chill when I ask it to dispense again.

I just had a thought. I'm living in an economy where these people use bottle caps instead of coins or notes like we had in the vault. With all the other strangeness going on, I barely even thought about it. The mutant cow thing that I am informed is actually called a brahmin barely got a mention in these journals for Christ's sake!

And now I get an extra bottle cap every time I drink a soda. That's...I don't know what to think about that. I gotta start drinking more Nuka-Cola.

And speaking of drinking Nuka-Cola, I tried that glowing blue bottle I found in the school the other day at long last, and it made my piss glow. I don't think I'll be trying that again any time soon. Maybe I should just collect them like I do the bobbleheads and use them as nightlights? Or I could get a whole bunch of them and leave them out in the wasteland, arranged to form words.

Imagine some raider on the roof of their hideout looking out into the distance one night and seeing a bunch of glowing blue letters on the far away hill spelling out "YOU'RE DEAD". That would scare the fuck out of me if I saw that.

Then again, maybe I'm giving these people too much credit by assuming they can read.

Oh look, there's that superiority complex again.

Aside from buying and selling, I've also busied myself listening to the radio today, trying to gather what else I can. President Eden on Enclave radio repeats himself a lot. It's mostly pre-recorded messages talking about the Enclave's values and what they hope to accomplish. It all sounds good, but it's repetitive, and I'm not fond of the music.

Three Dog on the other hand has been much more informative. Word has spread about my defusing of the Megaton bomb, and he's been very congratulatory of me for it. Apparently I'm a "defender" now. Yippee. Hope dad's listening though. Maybe he'll hear I'm still in Megaton and come back.

The other reports were also interesting. Grayditch is still quiet, there's a large concentration of raiders around Evergreen Mills, and some weirdoes that sound like something out of a pre-war comic book are fighting over in Canterbury Commons. I've also heard that Arefu, where I'm supposed to deliver the West girl's letter is being harassed by some thugs right now. I should probably get over there tomorrow.

Oh, and I also murdered Moriarty.

**Day 5: The Quest for Justice.**

Hello journal! Today, I'm writing to you from scenic Tenpenny Tower!

I was torn. I knew shit was going down up north with Arefu, and Evergreen Mills, and I also think this Paradise Falls place that I've heard about a few times now is also in that direction. But equally, Burke was working for someone who came from Tenpenny Tower, and that's south.

In the end, town nuking won out against thugs and people who want to take you alive for slaving, and I decided to head over that way.

My Pipboy has a map of the D.C. area available, which I've never really turned on before now, but it's all pre-war landmarks. Mostly useless to me. I switched to a clear version of the map and have decided to make my own landmarks as I come across them. It can tell me where I am too, so I can use it to find my way, and I can set a waypoint on it too so I know where to go.

I marked down Vault 101, Springvale, the school and Megaton on the map, and then set a marker for Tenpenny. Started trudging in that direction.

On my way, I came across more mutated wildlife. Giant flying insects with radioactive spit, and an animal which I am going to guess is a molerat from how it matches up to the descriptions people have given me. I was also accosted at one point by a malfunctioning pre-war Protectron. It had lasers, which was bad, but I also now have some energy cells and scrap metal for Walter, which is good.

I passed by the old RobCo facility on my way here too. I marked it down. I'm coming back to take a look in there later. My inner scientist is curious about all the technology such a place could house.

There was a roving trader just outside it too, being followed by a number of robots. I tried to buy a Mister Gutsy I liked the look of from him, but he refused me. Jerk.

Anyway, now I'm in the tower, and it is here I shall be staying for the night. I had to lie to get myself in, but there's this old guy called Dashwood who let me stay with him for the night, because it was late by the time I got to the tower. He seems trustworthy. Intelligent even. I like him already.

Tomorrow, I'll ask around and sort out this nasty town nuking business.

**Day 6: Living in Luxury.**

Dashwood's famous, as it turns out. He did some adventuring in his youth with a ghoul companion called Argyle, and they made a radio play series out of it that's broadcasted on GNR. I honestly had no idea.

I'm told Argyle's been lost for years. Dashwood asked if I could perhaps find him, if I have time. I've got a billion things to do already, but hey, why not? He's been good to me. So I agreed. We talked some more, he told me a bit about the tower, and the thing with the ghouls too. Other residents are bigots. Don't want them in. That Roy Phillips guy is pissed. I think I saw him yesterday when I was trying to get in myself.

I'll have to talk to Roy if I see him again.

That's all a side project for now thought. My goal was to find out who ordered Megaton destroyed, and I found my culprit in Mr. Alastair Tenpenny, a chap with a red suit who speaks weird and who owns this tower. I choked him to death and left his body out on the balcony.

Not before taking that suit of his though. I needed some nice clothes, and that suit was fine. If I'm ever required to attend a formal gathering, I know what I'm wearing!

I think I need to see a psychologist.

**Day 7: Adventuring East.**

Left the tower today. Managed to get out without anyone suspecting anything. If I had left immediately after murdering Tenpenny, the guard would probably go in and find him dead, and I'd be found out immediately.

So instead, I stayed the night in Tenpenny's suite. When the guard came knocking to check on the old man, I answered the door half naked and told him not to disturb us again. I let his mind fill in the blanks, and I was given no further trouble.

I snuck out early in the morning after tossing the body off the tower. A quick retrieval at ground level, chucked it over the fence, went out the front way, gave some more water to a beggar I didn't even notice before, and then I took the corpse and ran as far east as I could.

I eventually found a cave to stash the body, which as you'd guess, was full of raiders. Also, giant mutant black bears.

It was worth it though. Totally worth it. You wouldn't believe the haul I got from this trip. One raider had a missile launcher, and ammo for it! I found a miniature nuclear bomb, meant to be fired from a shoulder mounted weapon! I got another of the glowing Nuka-Cola bottles, which the label calls the "Quantum".

And then there's the literature I found! Another Chinese Army manual on infiltration and espionage, and this one looks to be a different one from the last! A Grognak comic! I haven't seen a new issue of this since I was a kid! We only had the same several issues circulating the vault! I can start a library with these and the other books when I get back to Megaton!

Best of all though, I got schematics for a way to turn those glowing bottles of cola into a high powered grenade. And this thing looks fucking dangerous too. I don't even know if I trust my throwing arm to get it far enough away from me!

Well, I left Tenpenny there and marked the cliffside cavern on my map in case I needed a cave for whatever reason in future. Continued east. Passed an overlook drive-in full of those pre-war nuclear powered cars. Raiders too. Shot one of the cars, and they all exploded and killed everyone. Stripped the bodies, marked the drive in, moved on.

And that's when I arrived at my current location, Andale, whose residents I all killed because they turned out to be inbred cannibals who'd capture people in either a shed or a basement, kill them, and harvest their flesh. I let the two kids live, and they're going to be raised by their...grandpa, I think. He claims to have reformed from cannibalism. How true that is, I don't know, but he tried to warn me when I first arrived, so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.

I'm staying the night in the house of one of the families I killed. I've also taken the liberty of emptying their fridges of all that human meat.

To dispose of it, of course.

Honestly, I'm not still carrying it or anything.

Really.

* * *

**Notes from the author:**

Don't expect ANs every chapter. This is probably going to be the only one until the series ends, and it was added in retroactively after this story was already put up. I'm just writing this here to inform you all that _Wanderer's Diary_ is also available in Google docs format, here:

document/d/1DgCjhzM3wC1e7OWTohPvZ_D7a3_o7H9JHjl-57 GD1a0/edit

For some reason it's refusing to post the full link. So just find another Google docs URL and replace where necessary.

The docs version comes with a hub page, a quote from each week to easily distinguish chapters, and a longer description. Some rare chapters in the docs version also have links to relevant videos which weren't possible in this version. For the record, I dislike this site as a story hosting format, which is why it was written up in docs first, but this site has a wider audience. It had an audience before, but it wasn't a large one. I was posting these on a site that had nothing to do with _Fallout_ for people who followed me for my other stories over there, who just happened to also be _Fallout_ fans. Needless to say, I'm more likely to find the kind of audience this was written for here.


	2. Week Two

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Two**

**Day 8: Urge to Kill, Rising...**

Today, I had an epiphany. I don't care about all the people I've killed because I _really _like doing it. It's not because they were jerks or deserved it. Not that they didn't. It's just that I like to kill people, and I want to start doing more of it.

I mean, think about it; I came out of the vault after just getting my first taste of blood, and killing God knows how many of my fellow vault dwellers, and I discovered Silver. She told me about Moriarty, and my first instinct was to find him and put a bullet in his head. But then she told me about the raiders, so I put a whole bunch of bullets in a whole bunch of people instead.

And when I got to the relatively violence-free Megaton, I shot a man the first day I was there, killed another with a grenade the following day, and when the third day came and I was out of villainous enough people to off, I went after Moriarty with my brand new silenced pistol and put him down too. Then it was off to kill Tenpenny.

My whole life now has started to be focused around finding someone to kill. I only kill bad people because it gives me the excuse. The Capital Wasteland isn't like pre-war America or the vault; there are no laws out here. If you can claim self defence, that'll pretty much be the end of anyone's complaints. No-one cared even slightly when Burke died. And if I can't claim self defence, I can call it Wasteland Justice™ and that'll be just as valid as an excuse.

The old world had a term for people like me. Serial killer. But after the apocalypse, most people are serial killers. However, those same people are also raiders, and hated. Me though? I can just decide to kill douchebags, and everyone will love me. Ha! Stupid trusting jerks.

Anyway, so how did I come to have this epiphany?

Well, it all started when I was heading north towards Megaton. After the town of the cannibals, I wanted to get some rest and prepare myself for my next journey. While doing so though, I came across a massive military complex. Fort Independence, home to the main contingent of the Brotherhood Outcasts that President Eden was warning me about.

My first instinct was to shoot them on sight, because I had been given warnings about them. Then I looked at their armour, and realised that my pistol probably wouldn't do much to them. So I tried to approach peacefully. There was a raider attack, and they took them out as they came. I talked with a few.

And this is the part where I nearly shot them anyway, because then these power armoured pricks had the gall to act high and mighty because they were supposedly smart and educated and all locals are ignorant tribals. This one bitch had the nerve to act surprised when I caught that she was making a _Moby Dick _reference when discussing the Brotherhood of Steel proper.

Hey, fuck you too, Outcasts! I came from a vault. You're dirty wastelanders just like the rest of these people as far as I'm concerned.

Well, they tried to set up a deal with me, in that I'd exchange technology like energy weapons, power armour, sensor modules, that kind of thing for my choice of payment, which could be ammo, medical supplies, etc.

Their leader, Protector Casdin, was more amiable than the rest, but I still didn't like him. I didn't like his attitude, I didn't like his face. So I was going to shoot him. And then I remembered my present company. And that's when I ran off westwards into the ruins of the nearby town to get away.

And then Hell descended.

Raiders _everywhere_. They were in the streets, they were in alleys, they were in buildings, they hid behind things...I couldn't keep track of all of them. Some had just pistols and other standard weapons, but one had a sawn-off shotgun, and at least one other had a missile launcher! Just like the raiders at the cave! Are missile launchers really standard issue for raiders?!

I fought them, but I wasn't doing so well. I used up all my grenades battling them, ran out and collected their guns when it was safe because my own weren't up to the challenge, and kept trying to put off using either one of the two missile launchers I was now lugging around.

Then came salvation, in the form of Sam Warrick, who's a raider, and a crack shot with his sniper rifle. Thing is, he's a raider who hates other raiders, so he was stealing my kills. Well, that or saving my life. I thought of it as stealing my kills though.

All I know is, the raiders soon went down. And I saw this guy, and my first thought was:

_Ah! A challenge!_

Out came the pistol, and then we were both going at it in the streets of Fairfax. Oh it was so good! There was blood all over, and that look in his eyes when I made the fatal shot! I came running out from my cover, charged him and stole his sniper rifle out of his hands! He looked up at me sadly, treating his own death all serious-like, and I was just dancing around and giggling like a maniac.

And then, I realised I didn't want to kill the Outcasts anymore. My urges were satisfied. I'd taken my share of lives for the day, and I was richer for it. So now I lay here, by a campfire, in one of the more intact buildings of the Fairfax ruins, creating an inventory of all the stuff I'd taken from the raiders as I write these journals.

Gonna start with breaking down the missile launchers and combining the best parts of both into one. I'm going to need the Fairfax raiders' full arsenal for tomorrow.

Because tomorrow, I assault Fort Independence.

**Day 9: Cast Out Again. FROM LIFE.**

Well, that's the end of the Brotherhood Outcasts.

They made a valiant effort, but I had a missile launcher, and once the guy with the minigun went down, I also had a minigun. After that, Protector Casdin barely stood a chance. Carrying both the heavy weapons was a bitch to do, but with personal armament like that, their armour was no longer a problem. And the best part was that I kept coming across more ammo as I went through their base.

It's really quite pathetic that these trained killers in power armour, who think they're so much better than the rest of the people in the wasteland, all couldn't stop one guy wearing a vault jumpsuit with a shoulder pad.

Well, after the total emasculation of the Brotherhood Outcasts was complete, I started picking out my prizes. Miniguns and missile launchers galore, and ammunition for all of them. One of the launchers was modified by the Outcasts to be more damaging and to fire in a weird way. Nothing that V.A.T.S. can't properly direct though. That's always a help when I can't make a shot by myself.

I also got a bunch of laser and plasma weapons, pistols and rifles alike, cells for all of them, plus cells for a kind of weapon I haven't even seen yet, a device that turns the user invisible(!) and all this damn power armour all over the place too. I wish I knew how to use power armour. I could be invincible if I wore this.

Then again, I took down the Outcasts all by myself. I may not even need it.

Still though, this is valuable stuff. I've spent most of the day collecting up damaged power armour, stripping it down, and mashing the parts together again to make less damaged power armour. I've thrown the corpses into the basement, and tomorrow I am going to make a long journey back to Megaton, carrying with me multiple suits of power armour and heavy weapons, and a load of scrap metal for Walter too.

It'll be tough, but hey, this is what will make me rich. I am SO getting a jukebox when I get home!

**Day 10: AUGH YEAH FOKES.**

This is the Lone Wanderer, as titled by Three Dog, writing to you from my bachelor pad here in sunny Megaton, Virginia. Is this technically Virginia? Is there even a Virginia anymore?

Fuck it.

This place is looking swanky now. It was a long journey, but I was right about it being worth it. Power armour is real valuable, despite the relative lack of people trained to wear it. It sold for a lot once I found a buyer, and by the time I found people to sell my excess of energy weapons to, I was swimming in caps.

Moira's done this place up good. I got a workbench to construct those grenades I found schematics for, I got a lab to brew up chems that also contains a supply of that pre-war addiction-treating stuff that Doc Church has, I got an infirmary to patch myself up, the jukebox I had my eye on, tuned to Galaxy News Radio of course, and Moira's even done a whole redecoration of the house's style, to make it look like the vault.

Home sweet home.

I started that library too. All the books I collected from the cave and the school are on my shelf now, as are all my new issues of Grognak, including one I forgot to mention earlier that I found in Andale.

Actually I picked up a lot of stuff I didn't mention. There was a book about flamethrowers used by the U.S. army I found in Fairfax, between Fairfax and Andale I found a book about a jerky vendor, and I picked up another pair of Quantum bottles too, one of which was actually _in _Fort Independence.

I find myself appreciating the new literature on a whole new level since Independence. It's like that bitch who didn't expect me to have read _Moby Dick _was there in my head, subconsciously making me read more into the works.

I could have been a book critic if I were born before the war.

I love this comic so much though. It reminds me of a time when I only murdered people in my fantasies, and my dad wasn't gallivanting around the wastes, likely getting himself killed by mutant bears.

The bears are called yao guai, by the way. At least that's what I'm told. And the insect thingies are bloatflies. While on the subject of mutant wildlife, I also came across some giant ants and giant scorpions fighting while on my travels, and the giant scorpions are called radscorpions. Like radroaches, except for scorpions. And yet the giant ants are just called giant ants. Weird.

What's left of my haul after the last adventure has all been gathered up, sorted and put in its place. Tenpenny's suit will be right at home next to the spare vault jumpsuits and security armour, and I've surprisingly enough found that the other locker has enough space for me to keep both the minigun and the special missile launcher there.

By the way, the Outcasts named it Miss Launcher. Fuckheads.

I'd like to carry them with me on my adventures, but sadly it just isn't practical. I've already decided I'm going to keep the other stuff with me. That's a laser pistol, laser rifle, plasma pistol, plasma rifle, sniper rifle, sawn-off shotgun, silenced pistol, frag grenades, combat knife I took from Sam and a pair of brass knuckles some raider had if all else fails.

That by itself is more than one man should ever need. I am NOT carrying around weapons meant to be used against buildings and tanks as well. I have enough. If I come across a target large enough to warrant that kind of firepower, then it's something I need to go back to Megaton and take a few days to plan the demise of anyway. I certainly don't plan to be making another Independence-style raid any time soon.

Do you even know how hard it is to strap all these weapons to myself?

Also been looking at those grenade schematics. I need to be on the lookout for Abraxo cleaner and turpentine. Tin cans I already have plenty of. Also on my shopping list is a conductor, fire hose nozzle, leaf blower and vacuum cleaner, because the caravan guy I sold some of the power armour sets to, and Moira, both coincidentally were selling schematics for a thing called the Rock-It Launcher.

Again, fuckheads.

They're both slightly different versions though. I don't know whose idea the initial design was, but I think these two were copying from different notes. Putting them together though, I think I can make a design that combines the best of both, if I get the parts. I think Moira sells what I need, but I can't be bothered to walk up to the shop again now. It's late, and the day's been busy enough.

Though I did find time to check in on the old saloon again while I was here. Nova and Gob are running the place together since Moriarty's death. Everyone seems a lot happier. And thus, my actions are justified.

**Day 11: Trying New Techniques.**

_11:35._

Gave Walter the scrap metal I had after cleaning out Fort Independence before I left today. I no longer needed the caps because there's nothing else in town I want to buy, so I just gave it away. Helps boost my rep. He was ecstatic. I think Megaton's all set with regards to scrap metal for a while now.

Moira also asked me to see about doing the mines portion of the research now. Since I'm heading in that general direction, I need to stop by Minefield, navigate my way through the town, and bring her back a mine from that place for her.

Anyway, today I've decided to head northwards and deal with the problems in that direction. I really do want to get back to tracking dad, but these people are helpless without me, and I really feel like killing something today. I went all of yesterday without so much as shooting one of the vultures ominously circling the town.

I'm writing this just before I leave, because I want to keep track of everything. The Pipboy, in addition to this journal, contains a list of everything I need to do, and I like to keep it updated. I frequently forget to update until the end of the day though, because every day out here is usually full of explosions, angry mutant animals and people trying to run away from me who I want to kill.

I haven't left out any important details yet, but I fear I might if I continue at this pace. So I'll cut this off here, and update periodically throughout the day.

_14:47._

Fuck this place.

I was an idiot. The pre-war version of my map said that there was a place called the Jury Street Metro Station a little ways west of Megaton. It's also directly south of where Arefu is supposed to be. I figured, rather than go in a straight line that way, I'd head to this place to see what's here first.

So what did I find?

Well, first I found raiders. They are now dead.

Then I found a radio signal that led me to a hidden underground bunker. There were raiders there. They are now dead. I also found a science book.

Then I went into the actual metro tunnels. I found a raider. Or a guy posing as one. Called Ryan Briggs. He is now dead. And good thing too, because this idiot was mixing glue into his food and thinking it was a good idea. People like that need to be put down, for their own good. Also added another book to the collection, this time _Dean's Electronics_. I love it when I find these things. Nothing beats a good book.

But that does not excuse the fates for what they did to me next.

I decided to search the stores. Hank's Electrical Supply first, which contained nothing of note, except a scoped revolver I took out of a safe I broke open. Oh, and RAIDERS.

WHO ARE NOW DEAD. ARE YOU SEEING THE PATTERN YET?

Finally, Gold Ribbon. And that's where it all really went to shit. The inside of the place was booby trapped. Things exploded in my face and there was a bear trap and...It just wasn't pleasant, okay?

I took everything I found, and there were things to be found there. More intact books! One on energy weapons, and another on tumblers, which could help me with my lock picking a bit. It's been a good day for my library, but not much else. There were missiles here though, which is always welcome. And another of those miniature nuclear bombs. If I can ever find whatever fires these, I'll be a happy man.

Then I stepped outside, and these assholes calling themselves Talon Company surrounded me.

I have fucking mercenaries hunt me down. Someone paid these people to kill me.

Fuck. This. Place.

Oh, and the Talon mercenaries are now dead.

_16:02._

Can you believe my luck?! Diary, I found a fucking VAULT.

Seriously! I'm standing in the cave, looking at the open door to Vault 106 right now. I haven't dared step over the threshold yet, because I want to give vault security a chance to arrive. If 101's front door suddenly swung open one day when it wasn't supposed to, we'd probably be on high alert. I don't want anyone thinking this is an invasion.

It looks dark inside. I'm guessing there's not usually much call for the lights to be on in the vault entrance area. Lord knows they weren't constantly on in 101.

Still though, this is exciting as all hell. I'm going to meet vault dwellers from another vault! This is HUGE! I will be an ambassador from both the wastes, and from a neighbouring vault. I will greet these people, as they emerge, blinking in the sunlight.

This is a chance. A chance to put right what I did wrong back home. I'll show these new vault dwellers. I'll made dad proud of me.

_16:19._

It's been over quarter of an hour, and no welcome party. I'm concerned.

Maybe they're waiting for me?

I should go inside.

_23:36._

NEVER AGAIN.

**Day 12: A Pale Imitation.**

That vault was poison.

The scumfucks who ran it released a psychoactive drug into the vault through the vent system.

Most of the residents went insane, and killed each other. Some were immune, but as far as I can tell, none of them made it. They all just slowly went crazy and died. I found notes all over the place, by people worried about the state of things who hadn't gone insane yet, people slowly going insane, or already gone, even just people holding out against the insane ones.

To make it worse, it seems like a bunch of wastelanders, or raiders, or a combination of both maybe, got into the vault and were affected. There were a bunch of psychos that kept coming at me out of nowhere as I explored the place. At first I thought they were survivors of the event that killed everyone else, because they were wearing vault jumpsuits too.

Taking a look though, none of them wore Pipboys, which I did find on a few corpses, and they had wasteland weapons. Combat knives and swords particularly. Chinese swords. I took one to check it. Definitely Chinese. There was the wasteland standard of leather or metal armour to be found in the lockers too.

I figure they got into the vault, took to wearing the jumpsuits because they were cleaner than the usual wasteland apparel, put away their armour and got comfortable, stayed too long here, and the drugs in the air got to them. Good thing that they're slow acting enough that I was out before I went mad too. Though I did have some hallucinations in there. I... don't really want to talk about them. Just know that they were unpleasant.

I wish I could have found a way to shut down the vents that were dispensing the hallucinogens and stayed the night in the vault. Decayed and ruined though it may have been, it still reminded me of home, in a way that my vault-imitating shack back in Megaton cannot truly achieve.

It wasn't all bad though. I still managed to collect some interesting things there. More Nikola Tesla and tumbler books for the collection, another mini-nuke to slow me down until I find something to fire it with, and best of all, I found a new bobblehead. This one was extolling the virtues of science. I can appreciate that.

I consider myself a scientist, in a way. I used to be the Pipboy programmer back in 101. It was my own choice. I was originally slated by the G.O.A.T. to be a clinical test subject, which basically meant being experimented on by dad. I was all for working with dad in the clinic, but I wanted a job like Jonas's. Assisting in the actual doctor work, because that's what dad trained me for. No such luck though. My medical experience was rendered useless, and I put my computer programming skills to work instead.

I was always something of an intellectual. Surprised I find myself outclassing most of the actual experienced fighters out here in the wastes. I really wasn't a fighter, outside of occasional scraps with Butch when he picked on Amata. Maybe I'm just really lucky?

Who cares. Point is, Vault 106 is fucked, and I couldn't stay there. I killed everyone in the vault, looted what I could, and searched for an explanation of why my vision was going blue and I was seeing apparitions. Once I had done all that, I ran outside and headed east.

I stopped by the ruins of a pre-war bed and breakfast place, at least that's what my Pipboy map called it, and what I marked it as. It was being inhabited at the time by raiders. I killed them. One had a rather nice assault rifle, which I am now carrying along with me. I have too many weapons, and not enough reason to use most of them. The laser weapons for example are just less effective versions of the plasma ones. I think I'll sell most of these when I return to Megaton.

Good thing I've since taken to carrying a backpack with me.

Well, I was hoping then that I could have found an intact building to sleep in, but it was half destroyed and exposed to the elements, and it could have started raining radioactive water down on me at any time, so I begrudgingly went back to Vault 106 and slept in the cave entrance just by the side of the wooden door. I didn't fall asleep until maybe four in the morning because that vault disturbed me so much.

That was all yesterday. Today I woke up at two in the afternoon, and intended to continue my journey to Arefu. And I did. After I returned to the bed and breakfast ruins and found new raiders there, fighting a Brotherhood Outcast patrol that is. One of the raiders had a flamethrower, and the Outcasts were followed by a robot. I wish I could have taken those, plus that power armour, but I was already weighed down with too much crap. I left it there, sadly.

Well, I'm in Arefu right now. I eventually reached the place, and found that they were having problems with a local gang that had been harassing them, just as advertised. I found dead brahmin on my way in, and a fellow named Evan King nearly killed me as well, mistaking me for one of the members of this so called "Family."

He explained the situation and asked me to go check on the other residents, as he didn't have the time to. One of them was a bit crazy. Most were just annoyed. But the West family, who I was supposed to deliver the letter to? Dead. Or at least the parents are. One guy called Ian is missing, apparently Lucy West's brother. He may have been taken by the Family.

I inspected the corpses while I was in the home, and found bite marks on the neck, with no significant blood loss, strangely. No idea what bit them though. Logical deduction is that the Family either have dogs, or have some sick motherfuckers in their gang. I'll ask them when I come across them next.

Tonight though, I'm staying here in Arefu. I need a day to recover after the vault, and it was already late afternoon when I arrived. My sleeping pattern has been thrown off though, and old Evan King can't watch the runway up to the village twenty four seven. He's watching the rest of the day, and in a few hours, I'll take over watch duties for him and he can get some sleep.

In exchange, I get to stay in the West house for now, which is where I currently am, and when he returns to his shift I'll sleep in here for a while. He's agreed to wake me at midday, and then I'll set out to hunt down the Family for him. If I don't find them, I'll return here tomorrow afternoon, and we'll repeat the process ad nauseam until I find these guys.

I'm filling in this journal as I wait for my shift. After this I'm going to go through all the books I've collected since Jury Street Metro for the rest of my wait. That'll kill some time.

As a final note, I've decided not to do the thing where I fill this in as the day goes by, like I tried yesterday. It padded out my entry unnecessarily, and I don't like writing these. And, because I had already filled it in throughout the day, I didn't feel the need to add in the adventure in the vault when I did the last part yesterday, which just forced me to write it all down today.

So no. None of that. I'll stick to my usual "This is how my day went" formula from now on.

**Day 13: Nothin' Like a Good Slaughter.**

Ohh... I am feeling so much better now.

That vault really put me through a wringer. Now though, I am feeling like my old self again. All it took was a little bit of killing to set me right.

I stayed up until Evan's shift was over and did as I said I would. No activity to speak of, but I passed the time by updating my maps and marking the locations I've been to recently, as well as reorganising my Pipboy's files in general. It's funny, really. I never used this thing all that much in the vault, in spite of my job, but out here in the wastes, it's been a real life saver.

Anyway, Evan came back, and I slept well for a little while. When he woke me, I threw all my extra stuff on the bed, saving myself carrying all that dead weight this time, set four markers on my map, and went out to find the Family.

First was a baseball field. Fordham Flash Memorial. I have to admit, I got a little emotional there. Brings back old memories, you know? I miss baseball. I was never any good at it, but...

Well, whatever. It was pretty apparent that the Family weren't there, so I checked the Moonbeam Outdoor Cinema. They were also not there either, though I did find a book called _Pugilism Illustrated _on a picnic table there which I am finding to be a good read. It's about boxing.

Then I found a cave/bunker place built into the side of a small cliff nearby. Evan called it Hamilton's Hideaway. No Family, but there was a group of raiders, a Nuka-Cola Quantum, another _Duck and Cover!_ copy, (I'm thinking maybe I might be able to sell duplicates of books I've already read), and some cherry bombs that I'm certain I'll find some use for later. Also a locked door, which proved irritatingly resistant to my attempts to pick it. I'll be back for you later, door.

And finally, I came to Northwest Seneca Station. It was inhabited when I got there, by a pair of ghouls called Murphy and Barrett. Murphy's cooking up a new drug called ultrajet, which is jet, except ultra. One of the additional ingredients needed is Sugar Bombs, and he's offered to pay me caps to bring him some. The stupid prick for some reason didn't want to try scavenging in the old grocery store just up above the station, where I immediately found multiple boxes to sell to him.

I found Talon mercenaries waiting for me on the steps too, granted, but I like to think of them as free ammo dispensers rather than a threat. They're not hard to kill. And I needed some more Talon armour pieces to fix some damage done to my own set, by some white crab-like abomination that crawled out of the nearby river earlier that day.

Did I mention that I've taken to wearing Talon armour now? Pretty sure I did. The stuff's good. Far more protective than metal or leather, and certainly better than the vault jumpsuit I've been wearing until now.

Anyway, a quick trip through an irradiated cave, and I was in a metro tunnel again. The Family set traps to kill me, but I got through them. Disarmed the mines, and now I have a supply of mines. Disarmed the rigged shotguns, now I have a combat shotgun. Really, it was just giving me more things to kill them with.

Side note: While I have the mines already, I think I'll head over towards Minefield anyway. There might be other things there worth my time.

I met their guard, and he let me into the main station where the Family are based. I didn't immediately open hostilities, because I wanted to find out where Ian West was being kept. After asking around, I soon found their leader, Vance.

Guy was a charismatic sort, but smug and pretentious as all fuck. Kept acting high and mighty with me for judging him, even after he revealed that the Family were cannibals, explaining the state of Ian's parents, I guess. I let him speak though, because when a man has a badass coat like that and a flaming sword, you let him speak. It's just courtesy.

I heard him out. He made his excuses about how the Family are just poor and misunderstood, and cannibalism really isn't _so _bad, and blah, blah, blah. He seemed to have forgotten that the reason I was there was because his gang were terrorising a small village, not because I'm trying to round up all the cannibals in the wasteland and gas them. Not that I wouldn't do that if I had the time and resources, but still.

Well, a slaughter soon followed. Firesword is mine, that damn fine coat is mine, and most of the things in this station that once belonged to the Family before I killed them all, are mine.

I found Ian West too, and let him out of his confinement. I explained the situation to him, but he seemed upset with me. Turns out _he _killed his parents and tried to eat them. Vance's people were "reforming" him. The Family's shtick is that while they are technically cannibals, they prefer to think of themselves as vampires. They have a bunch of rules and stuff, primarily that they only drink blood.

No eating actual flesh though, because that would be weird.

Whatever. I gave him his letter and sent him back to Arefu. I can dispense Wasteland Justice™ on him later if I can convince myself he deserves it. Honestly though, I think he really couldn't actually help it.

Right now though, I've got to claim the spoils of my victory here, and find a way to get it all back to Arefu where the rest of my stuff is.

Solved their problem though. I delivered my letter, and I killed the Family. Arefu's finally safe. I can't wait to see the look on Evan King's face when I give him the good news.

**Day 14: Wasteland Justice™**

Arefu is gone. I wiped it out.

Fuck Evan King, and fuck all the rest of these dirty, mutated, cannibal-loving, wasteland ingrates.


	3. Week Three

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Three**

**Day 15: Taking Stock**

Went back and recovered the Brotherhood Outcast power armour, energy weapons, raiders' weapons, including flamer. Caravans stopped by Arefu. As in, multiple of them. Explained the situation. We did business. I sold:

1. The Brotherhood Outcast power armour sets.

2. All but one assault rifle.

3. Pistols; all my .32s, Chinese, and 10MMs, including the silenced one I got from Burke and fixed up with parts from Amata's. With the scoped magnum, I have no need for handguns that weak.

4. The sawn-off shotgun.

5. Laser rifles.

6. Laser pistols.

7. Plasma pistols.

8. All but one plasma rifle.

9. All my mines. I have no need for an explosive weapon I can't throw.

10. Chinese sword from Vault 106.

11. Combat knife from Sam Warrick.

12. So much other leftover shit from the Family that I am not even going to bother listing it.

Total caps made: A lot.

Not counting the stuff I would go on to sell to the caravans, I looted the following from Arefu and Maresti, where the Family were based:

1. Vance's coat, because it looks nice. Yes, I pulled the clothes off a dead man because I wanted them. I know I'm shameless. I already did this to a vault security guard back in 101 and to Tenpenny.

2. Vance's flaming sword, apparently which he built itself, and a set of blueprints for how to make my own. The technical term for it is "shishkebab."

3. A pristine condition regular sword taken from a cabinet in Vance's room, referred to by the cabinet's label as "Vampire's Edge."

4. Another mini nuke.

5. Another bobblehead for the collection found in Evan King's house. This one is for repair.

6. Three more books for my library. One new one, _Lying, Congressional Style_, which I have read already and found to be hilarious. Two copies of books I already own, _Tumblers Today _and _Pugilism Illustrated_.

On a related note, I skimmed both of the new duplicates, plus the extra copies of _Tesla and You_, _Duck and Cover!_ and the other _Tumblers_ that I picked up recently. I think these new ones are better quality than the ones back in Megaton. They're cleaner. I'll keep the duplicates and sell the tattier ones back home.

And from the merchants, I purchased all the crap I need to build that rock-it launcher and the Nuka-grenades, which I will get right on as soon as I can bring myself to care.

For now though, I really don't. My apathy is all consuming. I'm going to stay in this ruined town for the rest of the day, and tomorrow, if I can work up enough of a fuck to give, I guess I'll journey out to see about completing some of the rest of my tasks. Maybe Minefield next. I sold all the mines today because I'm going to inevitably pick up more when I get there anyway.

At least Moira appreciates my work.

No. I'm not bitter. I'm not even going to think about Arefu.

**Day 16: Ugly, Dumb, Mutant Scum**

Okay, fine! You want to know what happened with Arefu?! I'll tell you!

I don't know _what _exactly happened, but I can take a wild fucking guess and say that this is that fucking cannibal Ian West's fault.

The way I see it, he must have ran right back to Arefu after I rescued him and told them all that Vance was the second coming of Jesus Christ, because he's such a fucking saint, that when he eats people, he restricts himself to just sucking the blood out their necks.

No doubt he praised the Family to high heaven and made me out to be the bad guy for wiping out _the cannibal gang_, and being stupid wastelanders, they believed this asshole immediately, and didn't think twice about shooting at me on sight when I returned to give them the news, never mind asking for my side of the story.

As far as I'm concerned, that lying motherfucker is responsible for Arefu's destruction, not me. What was I supposed to do? Shrug off the gunfire? There was no cover to hide behind on an open highway, I couldn't go anywhere other than jumping over the side of the bridge to my death, and one of those shots could have hit me in an unarmoured spot if I let them take shots at me long enough! I had to fight back. And by fighting back, Arefu got killed.

And Ian West IS a liar. He couldn't have told them anything resembling the truth if what he told them got them to throw explosives down the highway and shoot at me. And I knew that. That's why when I had finished walking through the rest of the town's residents and I found Ian cowering in his house at the end, I didn't just kill him, I smeared him over the front of it and left a big red stain.

I digress though. That's all in the past now. This is the present, and in the present, I have bigger problems than pissed off humans to deal with. Remember I wrote in this journal a few weeks ago about all the things that President Eden warned me against on Enclave Radio? Well, I came across another of them today.

Today, I met a super mutant.

Actually, that's wrong. The way I wrote that sentence implies I only met one of them. I met a whole fucking gang of them.

After Arefu had turned out so bad, I headed north back to Seneca and began walking east in hopes of finding Minefield, and hopefully Canterbury Commons too, because I've been meaning to check that place out. On my way, I passed through a place called Hallowed Moors Cemetery, which was home to a whole group of these big ugly green bastards.

One of them had a minigun, a few others had hunting rifles, and the rest tried to beat me to death with whatever they had found. Things got worse when a malfunctioning pre-war Robobrain and some tentacle-faced abomination also entered the fray. I wanted to cower in the ruins of the old church and just wait for either the robot or the super mutants to die, but minigun mutant followed me inside, where they were also keeping a captive wastelander.

I couldn't risk the potential harm to the captive, so then I did something really dumb, and ran out into the open, just as the others had finished with the Robobrain. At least that machine managed to kill fuckface before the muties rushed me.

I swear, I have never taken a more painful beating in all my life. Growing up, I always thought Butch could throw a damn hard punch, but now I realise what a complete and utter pussy he really is. Firstly, because this green monstrosity, that managed to get within beating range and disarm me, just after I had dropped the last of his friends, almost knocked me out cold with a single punch.

And secondly, because I hit the mutant back, and I PUNCHED HIS FUCKING HEAD OFF.

I'm not even kidding! His head literally separated from his shoulders and went flying back behind him. I didn't even realise I did it, until I punched again and hit the still standing corpse in the shoulder and separated his arm as well! I have never seen such a brutal dismemberment in all my life!

And I did that! Accidentally! _With my fists_!

I must have been mutated by the radiation to become super strong or something. It's this wasteland air. It's making me superhuman. I bet if I gave Butch a pat on the shoulders now, I'd liquidise him.

Nevertheless, the captive was very grateful for my help, and got away clear. The church also had some interesting items. A mini nuke and another copy of the _Big Book of Science_ were among the more mundane findings. My two favourite finds there were actually an issue of the _D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine_, which is about what you'd expect it to be and I am very happy to have found, and a holotape recording by a woman named Tina.

This thing is old. Pre-war. But it still plays. Turns out that this woman's brother was a soldier in the U.S. army, and he stole a pass code for a secure military bunker where they were going to ride out the apocalypse, because they couldn't get into a vault. Her number was five.

I wonder if they ever made it? It's sad to think, in a way. All the people that died. I never really thought about it before. The fact that we're living in a world destroyed long ago was just one of those facts of life I accepted and never really thought about. Hearing a voice from before the war though... gets me thinking.

You know, they say that ghouls are the way they are because of radiation. They're apparently really long lived because of it too. Most ghouls are probably like the way they are because they were around when the bombs dropped. I wonder if Gob the bartender was there when the world died?

If I ever see him again, I'm going to ask. I want to know his story.

Well, I got a decent hunting rifle out of it too, and another minigun. So there's also that. I was worried I wouldn't be able to carry all my stuff, but I've got a pretty strong back now after a two weeks out here. I can handle it.

After that, I needed a doctor, so I wandered around for a bit until I eventually stumbled across Big Town, which is where I am now. They've got super mutants attacking them from one side, slavers from another, their town doctor has been captured and taken up to some place called Germantown, and they also had a severely injured man here too, a fellow called Timebomb.

I may not be able to do anything about my own injuries, thanks to a lack of stimpaks, but I did have all the equipment on hand to perform an impromptu operation on Timebomb. Dad's lessons weren't wasted after all. I saved a man's life. Feels good.

The kidnapped doctor also had another _Internal Medicine _in her clinic, which I stole. Feels good too.

From now on, if any books I've found are just copies of something I've read before, I'm just going to skim it quickly to see if there are any real differences in quality or content, like pages missing from one version that weren't from another, and just sell off the inferior copies. Red's _D.C. Journal _here has a whole chapter that the one I found in the church didn't have, and the _Big Book of Science _from that same church has an index that was absent from the Jury Street Metro version.

Anyway, this town looks like it's going to go to shit pretty fast unless I do something. After Arefu, I'm really wary of going off to fight bad guys and rescue people, but I want to at least give them a chance to not be dicks to me.

So, we're going to try the Arefu formula again; I marked Big Town and the cemetery on my map so I know where I'm starting from, set a waypoint for Germantown, and I've stored my equipment away in the clinic, which is where I'm staying for the night, and tomorrow I'm going to head over there to rescue this Red person and see if I can end the threat of the super mutants.

BUT.

I swear to GOD, if I find that Red is a super mutant, and I return to Big Town after rescuing her to find a bunch of fucknuggets shooting at me because she told them that the minigun wielding hulks who attack people on sight were really just shy and that I murdered them because I'm the antichrist, that I'm going right over to Evergreen Mills, picking a fight with the raider leader, taking over their gang, and using them to bring down a rain of fucking destruction on this entire wasteland.

I am talking scorched earth and rivers of blood. I will personally kill every tenth wasteland scumbag I ever meet and use their teeth and rib cages to construct a fifty storey tower dedicated to my greatness, so I can lord over the rest of these primitives, and throw these mini nukes I keep finding down on the general populace from on high.

Then I'm going to use my raider gang to dig out a cavern underneath my tooth and rib cage tower, and build my own vault, entirely out of my victims' skulls, and I will seal myself inside it and just live in there by myself, alone, forever. Because no-one else in this hellhole has the required IQ to be allowed entry into my skull vault.

And maybe one day an enterprising wasteland hero can breach my vault and kill me to rescue one of the many people I will inevitably kidnap for repair and maintenance materials, and he can take him or her back to their home town and be shot at by them. And thus, the cycle will continue.

My skull vault will be a haven for the intellectual murderers of the Capital Wasteland for years to come. I will build a LEGACY, son!

**Day 17: The Old Man Who Could**

Well, things turned out okay, I guess. The super mutants of Germantown are dead. I got Red out of there, along with another guy called Shorty. Both got back to Big Town safe and sound. Neither of them, or the town itself, have tried to kill me. In fact, I helped save the town from further attack by getting some wrecked robots I found there up and running again and turning them into sentries to protect the bridge in and out of the settlement.

Those people love me now. That Timebomb guy I saved gave me his lucky eight ball, which is a nice gesture, even if not particularly useful to me in any practical sense, and Red's offering her medical services to me for free from now on.

Big Town looks like it's going to survive. I didn't have much in the way of stimpaks, so I purchased all her spares off her. Surprisingly, she accepted the minigun and a few other spare weapons as payment. I guess Big Town doesn't have much in the way of firepower. I was happy to offload those at any rate.

And as always, let's talk loot.

By FAR the prize I'm happiest about, is a great monster of weapon known as a Fat Man that I found in the police HQ in Germantown. This thing is what fires those mini nukes I've been finding around the place. NOBODY can fuck with me now. This thing will utterly destroy all my enemies.

In addition, more copies of the _D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine_, _Lying, Congressional Style _and _Tumblers Today_, all good condition I might add, and another Nuka-Cola Quantum for my growing collection.

I also picked up a new type of gun. A 10MM submachine gun, which should be useful for medium-to-close range encounters. Shotguns are useful for close combat, and I prefer to keep the rifles for longer distance. This thing provides a happy mid-way point.

Still haven't offloaded a lot of my other equipment. I still have that raider's flamer from my encounter outside the bed and breakfast. I want to keep this though. I keep finding flamer fuel tanks, and with this thing I can start up fires and cook meat just like _that_.

Plus, it's surprisingly easy to fit into the backpack when I break it down.

After that, I returned to my journey.

I had marked the police HQ earlier, so I headed back up there, knowing that Minefield was a ways east of it. Came across some wastelanders and some super mutants fighting on the way. Took care of it. Wastelanders were happy.

And then I reached Minefield, which I have now discovered why people think is haunted. Because there was a sniper here who kills anyone who enters. He wasn't just aiming for me, either. This guy was smart. He shot at cars near me, and tried to kill me with the miniature nuclear explosion that would result.

To make matters worse, if I dived out of the way of the cars or his gunfire, I was likely to land on a mine. I'm pretty sure he placed all the mines here himself, too. It was all very meticulously planned out. This guy had to be some kind of tactical genius.

I had my own sniper rifle, thanks to my encounter with Warrick, but I didn't know if I could get him. He was too distant, and he knew when I had my sights on him. The Fat Man doesn't have the right range, there were still mines all around, and I could only disarm so many at a time. Plus if I spent too long out in the open, I was liable to get shot.

It took me a good few hours to get over to the ruined building he was in and get up to his position, but I did it. Stabbed him right in the shoulder with Vance's sword, and followed up with a decapitation. Got his name from him before he died. Arkansas. Like the state.

He had a key on him that allowed me entrance into the houses around Minefield, and I'm staying in one right now. Even now though, I'm still thinking of him. He was a kill I had to earn, not one just given to me. That old man put up a fight. He was a worthy adversary, and I respect him, even in his death.

After all, not just anyone can stand up to me. Because let's face it, I am fucking awesome.

**Day 18: Having a Plan**

Disarmed all the mines in the town, marked it on my map and looted the place before I left today. The houses contained a few books. _Pugilism Illustrated_, _Tumblers Today_, _D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine_, and another Grognak comic. All kind of a disappointment really. All things I'd read before, and not in particularly good condition either. Even the Grognak comic was an issue I've already read.

There were a few other old books, but nothing that interest me. Mostly boring stuff, or mediocre romance novels. A few weapons were around, but nothing new. There were some more stealth boys though, which was good because I used up the ones I already had with me yesterday trying to avoid Arkansas.

After that, I left town. Came across some dogs on my way out, gathering around a corpse. They look just like they did in our biology text books back in the vault. I'm surprised that they're not mutant abominations like the rest of the wildlife. I would have tried to tame one and take it as a pet if they didn't keep trying to bite my arms off and forced me to shoot them.

Well, after that I looked at my map again, and realised that Canterbury Commons, the place I heard about on GNR that is also suffering attacks right now, was just east.

It was a long walk, but I decided it was for the best, since I don't know when I'm going to be up this way next. Now I'm actually in the town, staying the night in an old garage. There's only one bed here, and two people already living in this place, but I had the caps to convince them to rent me the bed for the night.

I'm not entirely unconvinced that they will murder me in my sleep to take the rest of my money, because they saw that I had a lot. Just to be safe, I picked up a tire iron I found in here and I'm sleeping on top of it. It's just uncomfortable enough that I'll probably be waking up periodically throughout the night, and if worst comes to the worst, I can beat these people to death with it.

Because that's my survival strategy. Have a plan to kill everyone you meet. It's the only way to be sure.

Oh yeah, and there were a bunch of freaks in costumes commanding giant ants and robots to fight in the streets earlier, but I don't think that's anything out of the ordinary for the Capital Wasteland.

**Day 19: It's a Sunny Day in Metropolis.**

RIGHT.

So let's go in chronological order.

Woke up, still feeling tired. Checked that the people I stayed with didn't steal any of my shit. Found that they hadn't. Stole their copy of _Dean's Electronics _anyway, because I'm sure that in an alternate reality they probably did. Went out and got to know the residents of the town.

Uncle Roe appears to be the leader of this place. He was a pretty good guy. I spoke to him about the town and its history, and he mentioned that the caravan merchants I've been dealing with since Megaton actually circle the whole Capital Wasteland and make their final stop here. He let me know a bit about all of them too.

Then I had an idea, to unify the merchants that stop by Canterbury Commons into one greater company. By providing an investment of caps, they could all get better stock and expand their inventory, allowing greater trade and stimulating the economy of the wasteland. I think I just found a way to help pick this place up a bit.

Almost three thousand caps of mine I put into the caravans. I hope they're worth it.

Anyway, by that point I had been ignoring the proverbial elephant in the room long enough, and I asked about the two quote unquote "superheroes" from yesterday.

There was a rational explanation for both, talking about childhoods, loss of parents, obsessions with robots.. .Like a comic book origin story. I will just sum up the deal with both of them right now though, to keep it short and sweet: They're both fucking crazy.

The douche with the bucket on his head is Scott Wollinski. He calls himself the Mechanist, has robot minions to fight for him, used to be the town's mechanic or something, and makes his base in the robot repair centre north of the town. The bitch in the ant costume is Tanya Christoff. She commands an army of ants, somehow, calls herself the AntAgonizer, and lives in some hole south of the town.

I scouted out both the places real quick and marked them both, plus Canterbury Commons itself on my map. I wasn't really sure what to do about either of them, to be honest.

According to the townspeople, the AntAgonizer just by herself was barely a threat when she first appeared alone, and was something of an amusement. Then Scott took it all seriously and started fighting her with robots, and now they think this is getting out of hand.

That's why I'm unsure of which moral path to take here. Scott's got good intentions, but he's clearly the bigger threat to the town. Whereas ant bitch is actively trying to destroy these people, but they never had a problem with her until the fights escalated, which wasn't her fault in the first place.

I spent most of the day just hanging around town, trying to decide what to do.

Met some of the merchants while I was. That guy who I sold some of the Outcast power armour to and purchased the rock-it launcher schematics from back in Megaton was one of them. Crazy Wolfgang is his name. He thanked me for my investments by giving me some stealth boys.

I also reunited with a weapons trader who I've seen around before and sold some stuff to. Lucky Harith. Seems pleasant enough. Gave me another mini nuke for my new Fat Man. He also took the liberty of relieving me of all my spare guns, mines, grenades, and to my surprise, chems too. I wasn't expecting him to buy my chems, but I certainly wasn't complaining. I've found surprisingly little use for them. Especially the Mentats.

Well, after that I rented out that garage again to stay another night. My temporary landlords weren't happy about it, but they weren't about to turn down the caps. I think they've been sleeping on the floor since I arrived. Hey, I don't care what happens to them. They're wastelanders. They're probably used to this. But I'm a vault dweller. I expect a certain level of comfort, like a bed. I tried sleeping on a cave floor once, and that was the worst night of my life.

I'm still going to hide my stuff somewhere underneath some rubble in town and sleep on top of that tire iron again in case of night murders. They're more pissed off with me than they were before, so it helps to be safe.

God, I'm getting jittery lately. It's been too long since I've killed someone. I keep getting paranoid. That's what this is. I'm probably convincing myself that Dominic and Machete are going to murder me so that I can justify it in my own mind if I decide to murder them myself later on.

Well no, brain. It's not going down like that. Even if it is more for practical reasons than anything, I actually do have a moral code which outlaws that kind of behaviour.

Not that that means I'm not keeping the tire iron anyway. I've grown attached to it.

Actually, you know what? Fuck it. Tomorrow, I'm going to just pick a superhero and kill them.

**Day 20: Adventures of the Wasteland Wanderer, Issue #3.**

I stormed the Mechanist's forge first. Yes, I decided to take down the hero first and deal with the villain later. Bite me.

It was all easily dealt with. There were a lot of robots in there, the most annoyingly persistent being the sentry bots, but I happened across a supply of pulse grenades while in there, which are especially made for dealing with robots, and quite effectively ruined them.

Sad I used them all up, because those could have been useful to me in future. Unlike the frags, which I've started selling as soon as possible to lighten my load, I have no risk of dying if one of these accidentally goes off. Plus, I do still plan to raid the facility near Tenpenny Tower one day.

The Mechanist I confronted once all his minions were dead. He was a good guy, so I gave him a chance to back down. I talked him out of his stupidity, and he gave me his costume and left. That was easy.

I took the copies of _Nikola Tesla _and _Lying, Congressional Style _I found in there too. These look to be good quality, though not as good as the versions I already have. Might fetch a nice price though.

Additionally, I happened across a Nuka grenade while here, of exactly the design my schematics were specifying. I took it with me, hoping to test its effectiveness. I want to see how much punch one of these really packs before I try to make my own.

Next, the AntAgonizer. I went back to her lair next, and made my way through the caves. I shot my way through an army of ants and found her at the very end of the place, seeming rather pleased that I had defeated her nemesis for her. She asked me to hand over his stupid looking armour, but little did she know that I was still carrying my shotgun not because I wanted to lean on it as I got down on one knee to pledge my allegiance to her, but because I was about to remove her head with it.

Damn, her body was a mess afterwards. It was like that super mutant all over again. I just seem to witness the bloodiest deaths.

Anyway, I stripped the armour off the remains of her corpse, sort of as a way to prove I took down both the superheroes. I also picked up another Quantum and another stealth boy in there.

I returned to town later with my new trophies to prove my victory. They were very pleased with me, and I made six hundred caps in reward money. Because I really needed more caps. Seriously.

Another merchant also approached me to thank me for investing in his caravan too. This one was a doctor, called Hoff, who gave me some stimpaks. Those are always good.

Well, I did it. I cleansed the world of superheroes and supervillains in a day. Really, I was disappointed to find that both were all theatrics and no fight. Their underlings did all the work really, and the Mechanist was stopped by just talking to him. There was no challenge. Arkansas was a better superhero than either of these two.

But then I realised, I still had the armour of both... I had the powers of both...While the AntAgonizer may have been too weak to fight properly, and the Mechanist too easily swayed from his path, I have the strengths of both and none of the weaknesses! So tonight, I put on the helmet of the ant queen and the body armour of the master of machines, equip my flamethrower, and descend from my new lair in the robot repair centre down onto the town.

Tremble, Capital Wasteland! For you are witnessing the rise, of the Steel Insect!

**Day 21: A Stupid, Foolish Mistake.**

Okay, so the wasteland isn't ready for the rise of the Steel Insect just yet, but my day will come.

I say that mainly because I came out the front of the repair centre I stayed in today, and found a bunch of Talon Company mercs politely waiting just outside my door for me. I soon found the Mechanist's armour to be woefully inadequate for stopping gunfire compared to Talon Company's own armour.

Though testing has revealed that Talon mercs are still vulnerable to flamethrowers.

Well, after that I went south. I stumbled across two things of note. First of all, a vault, which immediately sent me running screaming when I saw it. Second of all, the Corvega factory. That's a place where they made cars before the war. I went inside in search of adventure and fortune, and was immediately set upon by giant mutant ants.

Sadly, dressing like a spastic didn't seem to work for me like it did for Miss Christoff, and I had to kill them all. I now have ant meat to last me for days, and a surprisingly large number of books I found in and around there as well, which I'll get to later. One in particular was hard to get to because it was stuck in a footlocker that try as I might, I couldn't bust open. Good thing I found a key.

Then I headed southwest towards Megaton, and stumbled across the Chryslus building, which is the headquarters of the company behind Corvega. This place held super mutants instead of ants, and that made me sad.

There I found something that made me smile. _Guns and Bullets_? Could it be? A book that interests me that I don't have thirty extra copies of already because I'm too retarded to sell them while I'm in the town where all the trade caravans congregate? Ooh...I'm saving this for later.

After that, I checked my map again. It turns out I came around in a circle from Big Town, and I was coming to the close of it. I figured, "Hey, I got an idea. Instead of going to Megaton, I should close the circle. I'll go north here and return to Big Town to stay for the night, and in between I'll hit all the pre-war ruins where there might be interesting things."

So I did.

BAM! Hit one: Bethesda. All kinds of crap there, but the thing that makes it all worth it was the bobblehead. Adding another vault boy to the collection. Thank you random pre-war corporation of unknown function.

BAM! Hit two: A raider outpost just east of Bethesda. Nothing much of note there aside from more ammo and parts to repair my weapons, though I did pick up a combat knife there (off a dead raider) that I've taken a liking to. I don't know why. I just like it. Maybe the handle just feels more comfortable than the last one I had? I call it Stabhappy. I think I'm going to use this.

BAM! Hit three: Wheaton armoury. And that's where I am now, and where things really went to shit. I fought my way through the raiders inside and out just fine, but then I made the mistake of assuming that I was infallible, because as a vault dweller, very little is able to pose a challenge to me.

Ah, the hubris. Sometimes, I need to reminded that I am not, in fact, immortal. I know, it's an easy mistake to make. But yes, it's true; I do have weaknesses.

One of those is radiation.

I heard the Pipboy warning me, but I needed to plunder the armoury. That was the point of this excursion; to loot things. Still though, I pressed on through the place with a bit of Rad-X and the occasional dose of RadAway.

I eventually did reach the armoury itself at the bottom, and I got the door open. I think that armoury door was the toughest lock to date I ever successfully picked, even if I did use Mentats to do it. The Mentats weren't enough for that footlocker...

Anyway, in there, I found more anti-radiation supplies, which was good because I sold a lot of my stock due to the fact I didn't seem to use it a lot. I found suits for radiation protection too, and put one on.

While I was at it, I began collecting up everything I found. I couldn't help it. It was like being in Fort Independence again. So many missile launchers and miniguns and sniper rifles and ammunition boxes and various other killing equipment. I couldn't leave it all behind. I _had_ to drag it to the surface.

And I did. And now I'm on the top level of the armoury again with all the weapons and ammunition I collected. My problem though? Well, there are a few problems.

1. I panicked when my rads were getting too high and used up too much RadAway too quickly. More than I should have. I have since ran out.

2. I still have some minor radiation sickness despite that, and I feel fucking awful.

3. There is simply too much equipment here for me to carry it all any further. Not just the stuff I picked up here, either. There's just too much crap in general.

Especially the books. I've picked up so many copies of books I already own since leaving Megaton. To list all my findings today alone, I have four more copies of the _Big Book of Science_, three more copies of _U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes_, two more _Chinese Army _manuals, two more _Dean's Electronics_, and one copy each of _Lying, Congressional Style_, _Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor _and _Pugilism Illustrated_.

I also picked up another Quantum, two more mini nukes and four more stealth boys.

I've gone over a number of scenarios, and the way I see it, I can't carry all this with me and also live. It's one or the other.

So, here's my solution. All the weapons of the same make, I'm going to break down. I'll use the parts to build one single weapon in almost pristine condition. That'll be less weight, but probably the same value. Still not light enough to carry, but that's only one part of the plan.

I'm going to keep all my extra equipment here in the armoury, hidden in an out of the way place on this floor where there's not too much radiation. I'll separate it into two piles. Things I want to sell, and things I want to keep.

I need medical help, and I need to move fast. So I'll dump everything here except the lightweight radiation suit, some caps to pay for services, the scoped revolver, the SMG, and Stabhappy. That'll be enough for me to move quickly and still defend myself. Once I'm better off, I can make a few runs between the armoury and Canterbury Commons to sell this stuff a bit at a time, until my load is light enough that I can carry it all in the backpack again.

And this will be a lesson to me to not pick up every little thing I might find interesting, because that shit gets heavy.

I've marked down the major locations I've been to so I can get a clearer idea of where I am and where I've been. Chryslus, Corvega, Bethesda, Vault 108, Wheaton. I think the closest place is actually Canterbury Commons, but there's no doctor there. Unless Doc Hoff stuck around, but I doubt it. My best hope is to make a run for Big Town and hope there are no super mutants in the area.

Well, here goes nothing I guess. Wish me luck.

**Day 21, Part Deux: Ouch**

Hey, diary?

I think I'm dying.

I was going to get to Big Town. I really was. But there was this rocky sort of area in the way. A small chasm with a bunch of boulders on one side, but apparently a path through, because there was a rope bridge up ahead. I was heading for the rope bridge, when I saw that... thing...

Thing is the only word for it. It was like Satan fucked a lizard, and I was meeting the baby. Only it was all grown up. It was chasing down this wastelander. Whoever he was, he managed to cripple the thing's leg by the time I arrived, which slowed it down a bit. I tried to save him from it. I shot at it with the revolver, but it was pretty tough, and didn't go down.

It gutted him, and then turned on me. And yes, while it was crippled, that thing still moved fast. And I was already in close range. I was backed up against the chasm and shooting at it. I did kill it, but it got a swipe at me first. My radiation suit cushioned the blow so that that by itself wasn't fatal, but as it happened, the suit was destroyed, and I fell into the chasm.

I've broken a leg and both my arms.

Because the suit was torn to ribbons and falling off anyway, I removed it. That left me in just a thin vest and some boxers. I was bleeding from the stomach, I had broken limbs, I had radiation sickness, I was laying in the dirt, without my radiation suit to protect me...

And then came the radioactive rain.

Did I? Yes, I did. I just coughed up blood.

Well, it's been a good run. I'm fucked.

Guess this proves God is real after all. No doubt this divine punishment for all those murders. I'm sure I read in a bible once that that's a sin. Pretty big one too. I only wish I could say I was sorry for them.

Maybe when Three Dog gets news of this and tells my story on GNR, dad will hear it. I did some good. I saved Megaton. I saved Big Town. I saved Canterbury Commons. Maybe he'll hear about those. And maybe he'll be proud of me for them. And maybe he won't judge me too harshly for Arefu.

In fact, that's my one real wish. That when I'm gone, people will examine my actions, see all the people I saved, and then ask;

"Why would this upstanding individual slaughter an innocent town then?"

And they will conclude that the people of Arefu were simply dicks.

BECAUSE THEY WERE.

YES. I KNOW IT'S BEEN A WEEK. I'M STILL NOT OVER IT. FUCK YOU IAN WEST. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUUUU!


	4. Week Four

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Four**

**Day 22: IT'S ALIVE!**

So it turns out I can spontaneously regenerate my lost flesh and heal any wounds when sufficiently irradiated.

Who knew?

Oh yes, I'm still dying of radiation sickness, but I no longer have any other injuries. All my broken limbs? Fine. Massive stomach wound? Gone. Mental state? Eh, could be better, but nothing to complain about.

Agatha says I'm probably being slowly ghoulified. I like to hope that's not the case, but I guess we'll see when my flesh starts peeling off in the next few weeks. For now though, I'm taking the fact that the radiation still makes me feel awful as a sign that for the moment, I can look forward to keeping all my fleshy bits.

Oh yeah, Agatha. I should explain. She's the one who found me, and took me in to safety. She is just the sweetest thing. The kind of harmless, decent person that I didn't think I'd ever find outside of my home vault in this land of savages. Even the people who I do consider moralistic individuals are probably dangerous killers in their own right.

Still though, Agatha's been great to me. She told me all about her story, of how she came to be here. Her husband built their house, which is where I am for the moment, and they lived here together for many years. He's dead now, sadly. The house is nestled in the cliffs and boulders, just the other side of that rope bridge across the chasm I fell down. The isolation has made poor Agatha lonely, but it's kept out the rest of the wasteland horrors.

I'm informed that deathclaw attacks, (the Satan-lizard thing was called a deathclaw), are actually really uncommon out here. They're normally more frequent up north, further from the D.C. ruins. I guess I and that other wastelander just had really shitty luck.

In related news, my new friend has informed me that the crab abominations that live in the water are called mirelurks, and that the fuckfaced tentacle things that accompany super mutants around are called centaurs.

Agatha found me after she heard the gunshots, and took me in to take care of me. It was a good thing I took down that monster before it got me, otherwise she would have walked right out on that. She retrieved my weapons for me too, so I still have the revolver, the SMG and Stabhappy to keep me safe. No armour though.

Then again, that may have been a good thing. Agatha knows who Talon Company is. If she had found me in that state and assumed I was a Talon merc, she may well have left me there. I don't know that for sure, but the way she speaks of them, I don't think she has a high opinion of them.

She also assumed the other wastelander was a friend of mine and brought his body inside. Not the case though. We've no idea who he was, but we buried him all the same. He was carrying something interesting on him though; schematics, for a gauntlet that one can craft with a deathclaw's claws. If I could slice right through armour like that thing could...

Needless to say, I've since retrieved that damn lizard thing's body and ripped its hand off. I'm going to make this thing.

I'm still stuck here for the day, because this radiation is keeping me down, but Agatha says that the caravan traders often pass through this way, and they know she lives here. Maybe, if I'm really lucky, I'll have beat Doc Hoff here from Canterbury Commons, and he'll arrive soon with some spare RadAway to sell.

I've not got any more armour with me, but if I see either Crazy Wolfgang, Lucky Harith, or a guy I haven't met yet called Crow after I've had my radiation treated, I can show them to the armoury and offload some of the gear there.

And on a final note, Agatha's a violinist, but her instrument is wearing down. She mentioned that her great great etc. grandmother, Hilda, lived in Vault 92 way back when, which was a vault dedicated entirely to musical prodigies. Hilda had apparently been in possession of a Stradivarius violin, which is a very high quality instrument, and exactly what she needs. She's requested of me that if I ever might find the time, that I could look into possibly getting it for her.

She can't really offer me any payment aside from a revolver of the same make as the one I already have and some ammunition from her husband's old boxes, and she doesn't even have any idea where Vault 92 is. But damn it, I _will _get that violin. Because Agatha saved my life, she's been good to me, she deserves this, and following the Big Town/Arefu formula, I always make sure that everyone gets exactly what they deserve.

So next time I head down to D.C. I'll be stopping by the Vault-Tec headquarters.

**Day 23: Give the Dog a Bone.**

Hellelujah!

Radiation can't keep me down. The good doctor was able to save my life when he stopped by late last night. I was asleep at the time, but he stayed in with Agatha until I woke to help make sure I survived. I owe this man a debt as well now, at least in my mind. He on the other hand is of the mind that he still owes me for investing in his caravan, even if he did already give his thanks for that.

I've since returned to the armoury and picked up all my regular stuff. Hoff accompanied me, because he was interested in purchasing the excess chems and other such things from me. He also took all my books, except the ones I want to put in the library, and one of the many small guns I picked up for personal use.

The rest I've sorted into three piles, and hidden away in different locations around the armoury, all where they're unlikely to be found. In one pile, weapons and ammunition. In another, armour and other apparel, and in the third, whatever other crap I picked up. When I meet the other three merchants, I'll tell them each about one of the stashes in Wheaton. They can go pick up their own shares, go on and sell it all, and pay me back for them in their own time.

This way, I don't have to make any extra runs, and the issue of weight isn't my problem anymore. And the fact that I'm not demanding payment up front should earn me some more goodwill from the caravan traders. I must be the best thing to have happened to these guys for a while.

I marked Agatha's house on the map so I knew where to return to, and set about exploring the immediate area around it, since I never got the opportunity to last time I was around. I also marked a trainyard I came across while doing so, because I believe it may lead directly into the Family's old lair. I can't find an entrance, but if I ever do, this might make a good hideout one day.

I also met some old guy there who was having issues with a Mr. Handy, which I fixed up for him. That's one more person wandering the wastes now who owes me a favour. I like to think that's going to help me one day. If I somehow get every random nobody I come across to owe me one, then one day I can collect on all my debts, and conscript an army capable of leveling D.C. That'd be nice.

And I found another _Tumblers _book too. This one's got terrible quality, and I plan to sell it soon. I've learned my lesson about carrying all these around.

After that, I then hit the last place I was intending to go to before Big Town on my journey, and that was a scrapyard. There, I met my _other _new friend.

Remember back in Minefield, how I came across those three rabid dogs, and talked about how I'd hoped to tame one and take it as a pet, because they're relatively unmutated despite how every other animal in the wasteland turned out? Well, now I don't have to! I found an already tamed dog here.

His master was killed by raiders. And this dog fucked those raiders up in return. I heard the shots going off, and I arrived on the scene to find this dog standing over four bodies. One was a regular wastelander who was full of bullet wounds, and the other three were raiders, completely lacking in bullet wounds, but almost ripped apart.

I call him Dogmeat. Morbid, maybe, but it fits. He responds to it too. However vicious he was to the raiders, he seems to love me, and all the food I have with me too. What's more, he already knows tricks. He comes when I tell him to, sits, lays, stays, and he can even track down and find things for me. I jokingly asked if he could find me weapon, and he brought me one of the raider's guns. This dog is smart.

The two of us patrolled around that scrapyard looking any old treasures to dig up. The best we found was a Quantum and an old box, containing one copy of _U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes_, and another copy of _Guns and Bullets_. Speaking of which, I finally did get around to reading that during my stay with Agatha, and it was actually very informative. Turns out I've been holding my guns in an improper fashion this whole time and didn't know it.

There was also another Grognak comic, and this one is actually an issue I haven't seen yet. Better yet, it's the conclusion of a trilogy. I've been hoping to find this particular issue since I was ten years old. I know it's hard to convey emotion through green text on a wrist-mounted computer, but trust me, I'm ecstatic.

There was one curiosity that got to me though. There's an office here, that I can't get into. It's locked up tight, and there's no way inside. I've examined the lock on the door, and I thought about picking it, but I don't think I can.

Now, don't get me wrong, I know how that sounds. I've picked a lot of locks by now. I've read extensively about the subject. I think it's fair to say that I've pretty much mastered the art. I probably don't even need Mentats to do it anymore. But I've looked at this lock, and it's one of the VERY few I've seen where picking it simply isn't physically possible.

Whichever pre-war company constructed that lock should be proud. In my short time in wasteland, I've broken into military bases where the security wasn't as comprehensive.

Of course, this means I now have a new obsession. Whatever's behind that door, I _really _want to know. I've marked the scrapyard on my map, because I'm coming back here one day. I'm certain there's something in there worth my time.

If only, if only...

On our way out of the scrapyard, we also came across another Talon Company squad. I think they were on their way to ambush me, but we actually got the jump on them. And Dogmeat demonstrated to me that he's more than capable of pulling his weight. While I was busy shooting two of them, he ran up to the other dude and ripped his throat out.

I love this dog already.

After that, I headed east again to stay the night in Canterbury Commons once more, or more accurately, the robot repair centre. Because one thing still looms over me, and that is the vault I ran away from. Vault 108. I've been thinking, and I've decided that if I'm going to go plundering old abandoned vaults for Agatha, I need to get over my crippling fear of vaults first, because that might present a problem.

They say the best way to get over your fears is to face them head on, so I'm going back to Vault 108 tomorrow, and I'm going to prove to myself that abandoned vaults are nothing to fear.

I mean, come on. Just because one of them was full of fucked up shit, doesn't mean they all are. Right?

**Day 24: Questions Upon Questions.**

Oh boy, did I ever pick a stupid way to end yesterday's entry.

Yeah, Vault 108 was fucked too. I think it was even more deteriorated than the last vault I entered, and I'm not even kidding, it was populated entirely by numbered clones of a single man called Gary.

I killed off all the crazed clones, plus any other pests I found in there. Searching around for an explanation though, I just couldn't find much of one. The place had a cloning lab, and these guys were definitely intentional creations. I don't think they were meant to be insane like they are. But for the life of me, I just can't understand _why_.

_Why_ would you build a vault with a cloning lab? _Why_ would you make dozens of clone of a single man called Gary? _Why_ can the clones only say their own name and attack people?

I think the most pertinent question though, is that if this vault was entered before or during the Great War, then _how _were the clones still alive today? I mean, geez. Did this single vault in Washington D.C. actually discover the secret to halting the aging process altogether, _just _as the world was destroyed in nuclear Armageddon? That's just sad.

Anyway, standard procedure. Looting the vault, picking up whatever's interesting. A few guns, but nothing notable. A _Pugilism Illustrated_, a stealth boy, a Quantum, a _Lying, Congressional Style_, and my personal favourite find, an extra bobblehead for my collection.

I made a quick stop by Canterbury Commons again, and there I finally met Crow, the armour dealer. He thanked me for my previous investment with a stupid looking hat, made out of an Enclave eyebot.

They're these little robots that float around the place playing Enclave radio aloud. I don't know if I've mentioned them or not yet, because they were more of a background detail, and I've mostly been ignoring them. I think they're the reason that Enclave radio reaches further than GNR does. Each one of them probably acts as a signal booster. Scatter enough of them across the wasteland, you've got complete coverage.

Crow was happy when I informed him of my little gift for him in Wheaton though. So much so that he paid me in advance for some of it. I gave the caps right back to him and got a set of combat armour instead. His armour is slightly better than the Talon kind, and wearing this one makes sure I won't be mistaken for one of their mercs. Not that I have been so far, but I don't want to risk it.

And I picked up some sunglasses and a bandanna too, just because it looks cool.

Tonight, I'm heading back to Megaton to dump off all this stuff. I'm done exploring for a few days. I need to cool off. After my near-death experience and all the shit I've gone through since I was last home, I think I've earned a reprieve.

**Day 25: Way Back Home...**

It feels so good to back in a familiar place.

I spent the day just hanging around the town and getting my affairs in order. Nova and Gob are happily working the saloon without Moriarty now, and that Stahl girl seems very pleased that Jericho isn't around anymore. Lucas Simms won't admit it, but I can tell he's also much happier for having the seedier members of the town dealt with.

I think on some level, the people here suspect that I'm responsible for it. Those deaths did immediately follow my arrival after all. Even if there's no evidence to directly connect me, it's not much of a leap to assume that I'm the killer. However, none of them are complaining, and none of them have dared to say anything. I think they know that what I did was nothing but a benefit to them.

Now, Lucy West on the other hand? She despises me. Somehow, I'm not sure how, word got to her of what I did in Arefu. She hasn't said more than a few words to me, but she's probably aware of what I did to her brother.

In retrospect, I probably should have remembered that I was looking for Ian in the first place because his sister was worried for him. It'd be bad enough if I had just killed him in a firefight or caused his death accidentally. But I actually tortured the man, and decorated the front wall of his house with Ian guts, creating a work of modern art that I like to call "raider chic".

And do you know what? I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. Fuck that guy.

Moira was also pleased to receive my gift of landmines and an informative description of my adventure in Minefield. I made sure to make special mention of Arkansas. I want that man's name written down in this book, so that his legacy can live forever. He deserves that. Guy was the most hardcore badass I've ever killed, and he fought me without either power armour, fancy weapons, or an army of robots.

I was rewarded for my effort with a few grenades and schematics to make a mine using bottlecaps.

Speaking of schematics, once I was done going about town for the day, I had to return home to get back to organising my shit. Thanks to the materials I purchased from Crazy Wolfgang a while back, I was able to build that rock-it launcher, and construct a Nuka grenade too. Since I also found one of those already built in the Mechanist's forge, I now have two of the things, thus rendering my Fat Man redundant.

Speaking of, the Fat Man has found new home in my weapons locker, alongside Miss Launcher and the minigun. It's a great weapon, but not one with much in the way of practical application. I will make sure to bring it along next time I plan on assaulting a large fortress though.

I've also dropped off the raider's flamer, the shishkebab and Vance's Chinese sword, and also that tire iron I picked up in Canterbury Commons, which I didn't even know I still had until I emptied the backpack to unload all my loot. I also tossed that lucky eight ball Timebomb gave me in there. No sense carrying that around for nothing.

And for my other locker, where I keep my armour and clothing, I finally offloaded the two superhero costumes, the armoured vault jumpsuit, and that stupid fucking eyebot helmet. After making repairs of course. In my travels I have become an unparalleled master of equipment upkeep and maintenance, and I want all my stuff to be in top condition in case I ever need any of it again.

I'm keeping Vance's coat with me for now though. I can't wear armour all the time. I need to have _some_ kind of casual clothing.

I organised the library too, putting all the Grognak comics I've collected and the best quality version of all the books I've been picking up in there, and selling all the excess copies to Moira.

And my three newest bobbleheads are also right at home on that stand.

Dogmeat's settled in well too. He likes the house, and is not too bothered by Wadsworth, the robot butler. I'm not sure about whether I should get any bedding for him or not. He seems to find the floor comfortable enough, and this place is warmer than the outside at any rate.

On a more personal note, dad has apparently not returned to Megaton in my absence, so I'm forced to assume he probably doesn't know that I left the vault. I've had enough distractions already. I need to get back to finding him soon. And Three Dog at Galaxy News Radio is my best bet. I need to head into D.C. soon.

**Day 26: Last Errands to Run.**

Moira asked me to do one last bit of work for this chapter. I needed to head to the Super-Duper Mart and scavenge for food there. Well, loathe as I was to put off the hunt for dad, this wasn't too inconvenient. The Super-Duper Mart was on my way to D.C. anyway, so I figured, why not?

I raided the place, as promised. There were raiders there, but they didn't last long. There was a Protectron there in storage too. I had great fun letting him loose on the place. I picked up a mini nuke, three Quantums, another _Jerky Vendor _book, and just as Moira wanted, some food and medicine too. Also ammunition.

I was about to head back to Megaton to sell and store all the stuff I'd picked up there that I didn't need, but then..._he_ showed up.

Remember I mentioned Three Dog's broadcast some time back saying that a town called Grayditch went quiet? I now know why. It was overrun with giant, fire breathing ants.

Some massive cunt called Dr. Lesko experimented on the ants to make them this way, and it pretty much wiped out the whole town aside from him and this one kid called Bryan Wilks, who's now without a family thanks to him.

Needless to say, I was the one who had to put a stop to it. Lesko wanted to continue his experiments on the ant queen though. He tried to appeal to me to help him with it, to kill the queen's guardians and help him get everything back under control. I didn't though.

His systems had fail-safes. I destroyed the mutagen sample that caused this, sent out a pulse to kill all the damn insects in Grayditch, got rid of the queen and her guardians too for good measure, and went back to Lesko to give him a thorough scolding for his irresponsibility with his experiments. I consider myself a scientist, and seeing this prick cause this mess in the name of science infuriates me.

Why I didn't kill him, I have no idea.

Maybe because, despite everything, he could admit he was wrong? I honestly don't think there's any danger of him pulling this kind of crap again. He even gave me his lab coat and injection of a formula to make me stronger as a way of making up for it. Yes, I do understand that letting strange men inject me with serums is probably a bad idea, but it's okay. I know it's not harmful. I wouldn't have allowed it otherwise.

Side note: Dogmeat tried to kill the ant queen and her guardians with his teeth when we encountered them. Stupid mutt nearly killed himself, and I used up good stimpaks on him. Will need to keep a closer eye on him in future.

That still left the problem of Bryan though. He says he has relatives in Rivet City, the other side of D.C., so maybe I ask around there?

Either way, that's all a project for later. He's staying in his father's old place in Grayditch for now, and I'll get back to him when I find a new place he can live. I'm hoping that Lesko will have the decency to keep an eye on him for the time being.

For the moment though, I just had to get back to Megaton. What was supposed to be just tying up loose ends today spiralled into a whole other adventure, completely by accident. I've marked the major places I've been to today on the map - the Super-Duper Mart, Grayditch and Marigold station, and I'm going to head back that way once I've reached Rivet City.

I also marked a sewer waystation I passed on the way to Grayditch, because I want to explore that some time too. Not now though. Priorities.

Also of interest, while I was in the station, I found a dead guy with a recording on him. I think he was named Grady. The recording was made in case he was murdered, and it instructed whoever found it to go get a key hidden in the station and unlock a safe, containing a package to be delivered to a man in a town called Girdershade.

I got the package. Do you know what it is? Sleepwear. No joke. And someone came in after me demanding it too. I don't know who who he is, what his deal was, or anything about him other than that his brains were a very non-standard colour. I guess I should deliver this if I ever find the opportunity to, but this is fucking weird. Just throwing that out there.

Anyway, back in Megaton now. Lesko's lab coat has found a nice home in my locker, Moira is happy that I completed the research for the first chapter at long last. She gave me some stimpaks, iguana bits and a weird little machine that should cut down the radiation in my food. Always a plus. I also sold her all the extra stuff I found in and around the places I explored today, including a missile launcher I found in Grayditch inside the homes, and another copy of _Guns and Bullets_.

Next, Moira asked if I could go see her next time I get critically injured. A bit like what I did for the radiation portion of the research, except I don't feel like deliberately breaking my own arm just for this book. I still agreed though. I injure myself regularly enough without trying to. What's the harm in putting off healing myself until I can let her study my injuries? Hell, my limbs can regenerate.

Speaking of, I really should conduct some research on myself to find out why they do that. I'm still not seeing any of my skin coming off, so I don't think I'm turning into a ghoul. Or does it take longer than that?

Whatever. No more distractions. Tomorrow, I'm going to D.C. and hunting down dad.

**Day 27: A Distraction Appears.**

What's this? Waking up to the sound of a distress signal on my Pipboy? Brotherhood Outcasts in need of assistance? What do I do, Dogmeat?!

_It's a distraction! You need to go find dad!_

Oh, but getting distracted is so much fun!

_Good point!_

And that's how I came to be here in Bailey's Crossroads, sitting on a pile of super mutant and Outcast corpses. I walked into a battle and killed the entirety of both sides, because that's just how I roll.

Side note: Dogmeat can harm the Outcasts _through_ power armour. I may not have ever actually required anything more than my silenced pistol to take down Fort Independence. These guys are pussies.

What's more, they were sitting on something big here. This facility houses a simulation pod. They were interested in this place because if you can complete the simulation, which is of the battle for Anchorage, Alaska, then it unlocks a vault full of technology.

I can't tell you how psyched I am for this. I've stuffed everything of mine in the backpack and tossed it into a side room along with all the Outcast bodies and power armour, and my faithful companion is going to be watching it for me while I'm in the simulation. I'll get to work exploring and looting the rest of this facility later. Because the biggest prizes are inside that vault, and as it happens, I have the necessary technology to access and play the simulation.

All I need to do is win the Great War.

And really, is there any doubt at all that I'm going to have the Chinese army's total unconditional surrender within the hour?

I'm putting on the sim suit now. Alaska, here I come!

**Day 28: ...**

War is Hell.


	5. Week Five

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Five**

**Day 29: War Has Apparently Never Changed.**

I don't even want to go into what happened in that simulation. You could never understand, diary! You weren't there, man! You weren't there!

Actually, I think I'm exaggerating a bit. Seeing simulation soldiers get killed and their bodies dissolving into pixels hardly tugs at the heartstrings when I see real death on a regular basis and am often the cause of it. I strangled an old man to death on his balcony, I decapitated a guy with a Chinese sword, I blasted a woman in the face with a shotgun, and I punched a super mutant so hard it separated his body parts.

Hell, even before I came into this facility, there was some sneering Outcast prick getting superior with me who made the mistake of not wearing his helmet, and I planted Stabhappy in his eye socket.

What got me though, was this little view of the pre-war world. I know it's hardly accurate to say I fought in the Great War now, but that's what it was meant to be. I was fighting in a war, alongside all these soldiers. I was a soldier of America, old world America. We were battling some nefarious enemy for a resource that must have seemed so important at the time.

And all the while, I was there, knowing exactly how pointless this would all end up being. Who cares about the oil? I certainly didn't. I live in a world where even if we had succeeded, and America ended up controlling all the oil, we'd have no use for it. I've wandered the wastes for weeks now, and still not found any working vehicles or machines that could use oil. This war would end up destroying the whole world, and these fucking morons were fighting it over some gunky black shit.

Hey, guys? Electricity? Hello?

Oh, what am I talking about? I never lived in pre-war America. If there was an alternative to going to war, I'm sure they would have taken it. I don't really know enough about the old world to make judgement calls like that.

Sure, if I were the guy in charge, I'd have made it so all our cars and other transport relied on electricity rather than oil. Hell, even the nuclear powered engines that most cars I come across seem to use are viable, even if they do tend to explode a lot. But I'm sure there's some kind of practical reason why they didn't build everything like that.

Basically, I believe that if I can think of that alternative, I'm sure they did. And if they didn't go with it, I'll give the old world people the benefit of the doubt and assume there's a reason why they didn't. I mean, come on. Would America have really fought a full scale war that could have and did result in nuclear Armageddon if they didn't legitimately need the stuff?

Still though, I have never before now been more aware of the fact that I'm living in a world that's already ended. It's a sobering thought. One that I will have to rectify with more drinking.

Tomorrow, I'll collect up everything and move out of this base. I've marked the locations of the Outcast outpost and Bailey's Crossroads in case I ever need to come here again, though I doubt I will.

Anyway. I got into that vault and got my prizes. In the way of weapons, there were two that got me really excited, those being the Gauss rifle, which I actually already used in the simulation and I can vouch for the effectiveness of, even if it does have some annoying quirks, and a special Chinese sword that was once used by General Jingwei himself, whom I beat to death as my final test in the simulation. It has a current running through it, so anyone who gets stabbed by it also gets electrocuted. Nasty business.

Another new toy I've picked up is a set of winterised power armour, stronger than anything the Outcasts have been using.

Even better? I can actually use this. As a reward for completing the simulation, when the final battle concluded, I was given additional training and a nice little card to tell me I was now further qualified for field duties.

For winning the simulation, I was given the necessary training to use power armour without getting stuck and embarrassing myself, and for some sneaky snake espionage I pulled as part of some optional briefcase collection challenge, it gave me some minimal extra training in the fields of computer science, lockpicking and tactical weapons use, which I guess are skills the army valued highly.

Not much use to me though, aside from the firearms training. Locks and computers are two of the things I understand best.

Still, I am really happy about this power armour. Finally, I can use these monstrous things. With this set, I could probably just walk through most raiders. Super mutants wouldn't be anything more than an irritation. Outcasts, if there even are any left, would fail even harder than ever. And raiders would be reduced to the level of molerats for me.

And even molerats known not to fuck with me anymore. Now they just sniff the air and back away when I pass by. They can probably smell all the blood I regularly get bathed with.

The Outcast power armour is still dead weight to me though. I want to sell it, because it feels wrong to leave tech as advanced as power armour just lying around when I'm sure someone somewhere could still use it, but this shit gets heavy.

For now, I'm doing what I do best. I'm taking all the suits apart and putting them back together as one single, far stronger and better condition suit. Maybe I'll just keep it spare and give it to someone I like.

Another prize I'm extremely satisfied with is a stealth suit developed by the Chinese. It can turn the wearer invisible, just like those stealth boys I keep finding around, except the stealth suit has no time limit. At least not in the same sense. I don't think the cloaking is as effective, but I can't deny the usefulness of a suit that turns me invisible. I'm taking this with me.

Other than that, just the standard stuff in here. A few decent weapons. Nothing I haven't seen before, aside from a few plasma explosives. I'll keep the grenades, but I'm selling the mines.

When I leave tomorrow, I need to get all this back to Megaton. That won't be a fun journey.

I should also comment that while exploring, I found that the Outcasts had found and captured one of the Gary clones from that vault, trying to get his Pipboy so they could do the simulation. They sawed his arm off.

...What the fuck, guys?

**Day 30: Many Things Are Afoot in Megaton.**

Today, I hauled all my stuff back to Megaton. I think it gave me back pains.

Still though, I've sold all the excess crap and gotten rid of it now. Lucky Harith took most of it off my hands. In return, I got a set of schematics from him. I thought it was going to be something new, but it turned out to just be the shishkebab that Vance had plans for. It's just like how both Wolfgang and Moira had plans for that shoulder-mounted junk canon. I have to wonder who it was that originally thought these up.

I also got rid of a few other things I felt I could do without. Combat armour for one, these stupid brass knuckles that I've carried around and still not used for another, and the bandanna and sunglasses, which while awesome, I can't wear underneath a big steel helmet.

I went back to that school in Springvale and scavenged through the place for parts. I got at least one of anything I thought could be used for something and brought it back home. This happened to include all the parts necessary to make my own shishkebab, which I did, just to see if I could. It turned out alright. Not the best. Thing was a little clunky. I cannibalised (HA!) Vance's shishkebab for parts to fix it up a bit. It's still got nothing on the electro-sword though.

I built a few explosives too. Nuka grenades and some mines that use bottle caps, which Moira gave me the designs for after that expedition to Minefield. My attempts at tinkering could have gone worse, but I still wasn't ultimately happy with the results. I don't think any of these designs are quite perfect. I'd improve on them myself, but I really don't have the time.

I sold my errant creations to Moira. Mines first, then that rock-it launcher, because I was finding no use for it, and then, yes, the shishkebab. I don't need one of those when I have Jingwei's sword, and even that I don't plan to carry around everywhere. That goes in my weapons locker with the other novelties.

Speaking of novelties, I went out for dinner at the Stahl family's bar tonight dressed in that ant costume just for the fuck of it. Their reactions were priceless.

But yeah. Awesome as it is, I don't think I'm much of a sword user. I mean, what would I do if I came across another swordsman, and I don't even know proper duelling technique? I suppose I could imitate things I've seen in Grognak comics like I have been doing so far, but I really much prefer small knives, like Stabhappy, or blunt instruments, like that tire iron. I should think of a name for that too...

Or alternatively, I could use the one new creation that I didn't throw away, the deathclaw gauntlet.

Oh _yes_. I did. I took a claw capable of slicing through power armour, (if my experiments with that Outcast set I had was any indication), turned it into a glove, and stuck it on my hand. Do you know what that means? It means that the next time I meet an Outcast, stabbing is a viable option for dealing with them.

Speaking of killing, Lucy West is irritating me with her casual mentions of Arefu every time I see her. I'm surprised no-one has asked about it with how often she brings it up. Everyone still acts like I'm the second coming of Christ around here. Maybe they just don't believe that I'm capable of what she's accusing, and they're just ignoring her?

I don't know. I mean, they all seem to silently acknowledge that I murdered two people while here. Three if you count Burke. Even if they don't say it, they probably do know that I'm not a saint. Enough so that if I were them, I'd definitely be asking questions right now.

I'm not sure how long I can get away with this. Even in a post apocalyptic environment where it's kill or be killed, and there's no governing body to conduct investigations, or forensics to link someone to a crime scene, or even that many people who could solidly prove I did anything through old fashioned detective skills, it's still possible to slip up.

And I get the feeling that someone, somewhere, is going to want justice for Arefu. Lucy West could very well hire out additional Talon Company hit squads on me. I don't think she actually would. She seems content for now to just bitch at me when I see her, and bitch about me to everyone else when she thinks I can't see her. The woman's definitely bitter though, and I would not put some form of vengeance below her.

Right now, I'm debating whether or not I should kill her. I _really _don't want to, because she hasn't done anything wrong exactly, and the townsfolk are only quiet about the other deaths because they all deserved it, but I really don't want to wake up to find her standing over my bed pointing my own plasma rifle at me.

Just to be safe, I've got Dogmeat with me, and I've instructed Wadsworth to kill Miss West with fire if she ever comes in here.

Another thing worth mention, is that I stopped by Doc Church's clinic to see if I could buy some more medical supplies from him, because that's just about all I spend my money on nowadays. I found a holotape while I was there. A curious one. It was by some woman, sent to Church, asking if he could act as a surgeon for a runaway android.

Yes, an android. A synthetic man. A robot more advanced than any other I've seen, and capable of imitating humans perfectly. One of them had apparently gained free will and fled from his slave masters, and wanted a doctor and a mechanic to fix him up, wipe his memories, and give him a new face, perhaps seeking to start life over as a normal human under a new identity.

Damn, that just blew my mind when I heard it. I've never even heard of something like that. I asked Church about it, but he apparently thought he was being had and that this android thing was a joke. I can sympathise.

I asked Moira about it too. She had a holotape allegedly by the android himself which basically said the same thing, but she didn't believe it was real either.

Can I just tell you, diary, that I'm really excited? Just think of it! Androids! Synthetic men! The most advanced form of robots ever constructed, and they might even be real! There could be one here, in the Capital Wasteland!

I have to meet it. I have to study it. This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I can't possibly let this go. I'm going to investigate this and find the android. And when I do, I think I will have a new best friend.

And finally, serious now, tomorrow I head into D.C.

It's not even just about dad now. Moira also wants me to head down that way. I of course went to her several times today to sell stuff and ask about androids, and while there the subject of my task to come back to her mutilated came up.

But, with my new power armour, I was unlikely to ever injure myself again. I told her as such. She was disappointed, but that's how I came up with my second idea, which I should have thought of before. Write it myself for her. I'm a doctor after all. Well, I might as well be. I was trained in medicine in the vault, my skills have only improved since I got out here, I've already got experience treating people after Big Town, so why not?

It took a large amount of the day, but I did it. I was given a load of Med-X and an environment suit for my troubles, which is a radiation protection suit like the one that the deathclaw ruined, and which also found home in my locker. And now my next task is...wait for it...

Hitting molerats with a big stick.

So yeah, I clearly don't have anything else important to do around here. I'm taking a break from all this errand running stuff. Tomorrow, the hunt begins.

**Day 30: Of All The Things That Could Happen...**

D.C. is a nightmare.

I just don't know what went wrong. I really don't. It all started so well too.

So, where to begin? Well, I guess where it started. That would be Farragut West Metro Station. Compared to the rest of my day, it was a fucking walk in the park, but I didn't think it would be at the time. It says something that the low point of my day involved a gas explosion and a bunch of ghouls gone feral trying to eat me. Guess Three Dog and all the others I've heard talk about it were right after all. Some ghouls do lose their minds. And when they do, they're fucking scary.

This tunnel eventually led out into another tunnel which I could take either way. I went the wrong way, and had an encounter with a ghoul who glowed radioactive green and could cause radiation explosions with what I can only describe as magic. He was making grand arm gestures while summoning it, like a tribal shaman, and all the other ghouls seemed to recognise him as the leader. What else can it be? It's fucking magic.

Wizards are still susceptible to being bitten by angry dogs though, as my trusty companion proved. Maybe the heretics will think twice next time before trying to practice their Satanic arts on me, for I shall set my dog upon them, and he shall slay them in the name of the Lord! Praise Jesus!

I eventually left the tunnel, ending up in a place called Friendship Heights, where there was a raider camp. I cleared it out, and took a look around, but it quickly became apparent that this was the wrong way. My map indicated I had just gone eastwards into D.C. instead of south like I wanted.

I did stumble across what appeared to be a National Guard base while there, but exploring was the last thing on my mind at the time. I have marked the location to return there later though.

Returning to the metro tunnel, I tried the other end. There are many possible paths through most metro tunnels, I've found, but you can usually rely on most of them to be blocked off somehow. The very few paths left are pretty straightforward. The one I took led me to a super mutant, who'd been fighting some of the ghouls. Good to know the mutated horrors of the wasteland hate each other as much as they hate me.

Eventually, I ended up in a place called Chevy Chase. This is where I had the honour of meeting the famous Brotherhood of Steel for the first time.

Despite the warnings I heard from President Eden and the Enclave, I once again decided to approach them first. When I approached the Outcasts, I did so because at the time I thought I couldn't fight them. Equipped with power armour and a number of dangerously powerful guns, I knew for a fact I could smear them across the pavement if I so wanted, but I decided to give them the chance.

The Outcasts were kicked out of the Brotherhood of Steel because they didn't want to be heroes. They were douchebags and proud of it. I figured, how douchey could the Brotherhood proper be?

Not very, it turns out, but it was still apparent that those guys were once on the same side. They shared that arrogant attitude. Despite my arsenal, they didn't seem to think I knew what I was doing, and assumed that I needed their help to get through this mess.

They were there to clear the super mutants out of the area, as they were heading to Galaxy News Radio as well. The Brotherhood and Three Dog are allies of a kind. He shelters them in his studio, which is one of the few safe places in the city, and they protect it for him in return.

I had to help them with that of course. Despite their boasting, they turned out to be too incompetent to put down the threat by themselves. Fortunately for them, I was there with my Gauss rifle to blow them into literal pieces. It was disgusting, but satisfying.

And then the giant showed up.

It was my finest hour, without a doubt, but I don't really want to talk about it. All you need to know is that super mutants can grow as large as houses, that they start using fire hydrants on sticks as weapons at such a size, and that I had to kill one of these with a convenient Fat Man dropped by one of the idiots who got themselves killed. Also, Dogmeat is stronger than fire hydrant sticks.

That certainly got Sentinel Lyons' attention. Teach her to doubt my abilities. These Brotherhood types will now know better than to fuck with me. I didn't even need to reveal myself as the one who ended the Outcasts. I just proved my badassery all over again, even though I could have just listed some of my accomplishments and left it at that.

Still, I'll be watching her in future. And not just because I'm having vivid sexual fantasies about her, but also because she seems like a pretty big deal in the Brotherhood of Steel, and she personally knows me and knows what I can do. If I ever feel like I need a favour from the Brotherhood, it'd be good to keep her in mind.

As you'd expect, I shortly afterwards met Three Dog himself. And yes, he has seen dad, who he told me went off in the direction of Rivet City after coming to see him. According to the date and times he gave me too, dad had just left his station moments after I had left _the vault_!

I never knew my dad was an Olympic sprinting champion.

I wonder if there's even any point to going to Rivet City by now? I'll probably find he's not there either. If his current rate of progress is anything to go by, the man is probably on one of the moons of Jupiter by now.

Three Dog was also an interesting guy himself. Had a story or two to tell. I found out that most of his broadcasts are pre-recorded and repeat continuously until they're out of date, so as to make sure the radio's always on the air. In fact, even in the middle of talking to him, I heard his radio reporting on my acts of heroism in Canterbury Commons and Big Town.

And STILL no mention of Arefu.

I even asked about Arefu, and he's heard no news at all relating to it. He hasn't even heard that it's gone dark like he did when it happened to Grayditch. I guess it makes sense, considering the only witnesses were the ones who got killed, but in that case, how the FUCK did Lucy West find out?!

Even the caravan guys who stopped by the ruined town I never actually told the truth to. When I was selling stuff to them and they were asking about where the residents were, I just told them a raider attack wiped it out and I was squatting there. So what the fuck?

Me and that West girl will be having words later.

Well, at that point it was still daylight out, and I figured I could make some more progress before the day was out. Three Dog also had a favour to ask too. Since his signal range was shit right now, thanks to his broadcaster in the Washington monument being damaged, he wanted me to get a replacement dish from some museum and fix it. In exchange, he'd give me a key to a weapons cache. Count me in.

So then it was back into the underground, where I suffered more ghouls and found a bunch of dead raiders. I shortly afterwards emerged into a place called Vernon Square. And this is where things got really batshit.

My first stop was the Vault-Tec headquarters. There, I fought super mutants and robots by the hundreds, and battled my way to the top floor to hack their mainframe and get the location of that vault for Agatha. I did so, while also getting some information on several other vaults as well. Strangely, I found a terminal entry there referencing a Vault 112, but its location wasn't on the mainframe. Weird.

I also had to fight a monstrosity called the Masterbrain, but that's small time stuff compared to most other things I did that day.

Anyway, then I went outside and continued my exploration. At one point, I even dredged through a sewer to deal with some super mutants. It was disgusting, but it was just as I finished doing that that I received a distress signal from some mercenaries trapped on the roof of a nearby hotel. They said that if assistance was not possible, I had to go find their leader, Reilly, in somewhere called Underworld.

No fucking idea what that meant, but by that point my power armour was battered, I was injured, and it's difficult to inject stimpaks into the correct area or take RadAway when in a big bulky suit like that, so I decided not to risk another super mutant excursion and take my chances searching for this Underworld place.

After running all over the damn place, I headed back into the metro tunnel from whence I came, and tried other routes through it until I found myself in a new area, called Dupont Circle.

There I experienced all new hell, as I fought raiders and ghouls, somehow ended up in an irradiated sewer, wandered into a fashion boutique, blew up some cars, and eventually fell down some steps into a metro station to continue my journey - God's way of urging me along, I like to think.

It didn't work though. I wandered around in Dupont Circle Station for a short while, went through another tunnel that was completely wrecked, and exited into Dupont again. Guess it really was a Dupont circle. Aha! I'm so clever.

I took me a bit to un-fuck myself and go back to the metro to try again. Eventually though, I found my way through Metro Central, and exited near a museum. Specifically, the Museum of History. And what do you know? It turns out that Underworld is a city full of ghouls based out of that exact museum!

I had actually been really hoping to get to Reilly as soon as possible and deal with the Rangers' situation, but...fuck it. I need sleep. I need food. I need to get my armour repaired. And Dogmeat's been following behind and fighting with me all day and he's damn near dead after all he's been through.

I turned in my equipment to some guy to fix, rented a bed, and I've been sitting here on it for the past half an hour, alternately eating preserved boxes of pre-war food, injecting myself with stimpaks and writing this gigantic journal entry. And after I'm done, I'm going to drop unconscious and remain so for the rest of the week.

Fuck D.C. and fuck everything in it.

**Day 31: Getting in Gear.**

First priority today was organising myself. Yesterday's excursions through the wastes of D.C. left me with a veritable cornucopia of unwanted shit. In particular, books. I have a weakness for them. There aren't many of them left intact in the world, so I don't like seeing them left around to rot in sewers or under rubble.

To the goal of fighting that outcome, I sold to the town's merchant, Tulip, two copies each of _Junktown Jerky Vendor_, _Big Book of Science_, _Lying_, and _30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes_, as well as one copy each of _Nikola Tesla,_ the _Journal of Internal Medicine_, _Dean's_ and one of the _Grognak the Barbarian _comics I had already read. (I kept the other two I found).

This in addition to two other random books I found about nothing important, but it was starting to feel hypocritical of me to let the elements claim some of the only surviving books in the wasteland because I didn't like them. Thinking back on it, I feel bad for not saving that mediocre romance novel I left back in Minefield.

I also found two Quantums and three stealth boys yesterday, but I'm keeping them. You never know...

After that I went to see about finding Reilly. And I found her alright. In a coma. Doctor Barrows was afraid, but I had the necessary medical training/experience to safely wake her up and ask her what the fuck was going on.

Despite it having been a day already, she was confident that her men were still alive. She told me about how they got trapped on the roof, how and why she got away, the unfortunate fate of one of the mercs named Theo, and about the ammo box he was carrying that they left behind, which she gave me the code for.

Well, given all that, I couldn't help but take her up on her request and go to rescue them. I picked up my repaired armour and weapons from Winthrop and set out back the way I came.

Dupont and the metro tunnels were still a maze, but Dogmeat remembered the way we came yesterday, and led the way back to Dupont. From there, we located the entrance to some sewers. Not the irradiated sewers. Different sewers. Full of Talon mercs who were struggling against some super mutants. Happy day. Hadn't seen those guys in a while. I was glad for the opportunity to test out the power armour and Gauss rifle against them.

Me and Dogmeat broke into the local hospital from the sewers, and from there fought an army of super mutants to get up to the second floor, while also enlisting the help of robots and the turret security systems. T'was all good fun.

Incidentally, I at one point came across two super mutants talking to each other, with neither aware of my presence. They were talking about how they had not found any of "the green stuff" here. I had the pleasure of speaking to Reilly again later in the day, and she had mentioned that she thought the super mutants were in high concentration in Vernon because they were looking for something. I don't know what "the green stuff" is, or why it would be in a hospital, but I guess she was right about that.

So, why did I cause all that chaos in the hospital? Because that was the only way into the Statesmen Hotel. I had to cross a fallen radio mast to enter it on one of its upper floors. It was precarious, and I had to actually carry Dogmeat across. Poor pup was afraid of heights.

He's got no fear of super mutants though. Immediately after I put him down once we reached the other side and he stopped shivering, one of the first things he did was almost run into one and break its kneecap with his teeth.

Such a good dog.

The hotel was a maze as well. There were mutants, there were traps, and there was a note left by a dying man to his daughter which just depressed the hell out of me. There were also books, but as a way of being practical, I've decided from now on to list out the books I've discovered at the end of each entry or when I sell them rather than during them to save myself time and effort.

I found Theo's ammo box though, and emptied it out as per Reilly's instructions. Then, after a quick bit of maintenance on the elevator in the restaurant, I was on my way up to the roof. There I finally met the Rangers, standing in the middle of a sea of super mutant corpses. Trapped or not, Reilly was right. These guys were badasses.

Though they were disappointed that me and a dog were the only help coming, they were willing to accept my help either way. I distributed Theo's ammo amongst them, repaired the other elevator on the roof, (something that they couldn't do themselves without replacing the parts entirely), and together we blazed through the remaining super mutants at the speed of my dad.

The Rangers all left to go back to their headquarters after that. They pinpointed it on my map for me and invited me to stop by anytime I'm in the area to see Reilly about my reward for saving their asses. Glad to see some gratitude. Braving this hellhole is hard work.

After that, I decided to explore Vernon a bit. There were places I hadn't been yet, after all.

My first port of call was a metro station tunnel full of super mutants and mirelurks, which led me to a place called Takoma Park. It was an isolated looking place, which I decided to look around. I found two inhabitable buildings there, a garage and a pawnshop. The latter had a little leaguer baseball cap there, which I had to take because I saw it and I nostalgia'd hard.

Then I left it and found some Talon mercs waiting for me. I didn't think these pricks would be determined enough that they'd follow me deep into the heart of Washington D.C. even after how many of them I've killed, and especially considering recent additions to my arsenal, but I guess these ones were just extra confident.

Or not. I think they were actually in the area fighting super mutants, but they just saw me coming and going into the pawnshop and decided to set up an impromptu ambush.

There was also a huge load of super mutants in the area that I had to clear out, though this time I had artillery strikes to help me with it. There was another of those big ugly fuckers like the one at GNR as well. I call them Behemoths. I also considered Leviathans, but that has a more oceanic connotation. If I ever meet a mirelurk that size, those will be the Leviathans.

I explored the factory around that area too, but found nothing. Though coming out of it again, I did find a campsite, set up by a dead couple who had been studying feral ghouls, who got killed by their own stupidity. Then I was attacked by feral ghouls. Who'd have thunk it?

Making my way back to Vernon Square, I then tried the other metro tunnel there, which led me to Pennsylvania Avenue. It was a long street full of super mutants and mines that were linked up to a big switch which I found. You can guess what happened.

After blowing up the whole street, I proceeded to the very end of it, where I discovered the remnants of the white house, home of the pre-war presidents and one of the most iconic landmarks of the old world. Now nuked to hell.

Stupidly, I even visited the crater where it used to be, despite the radiation. I just needed to see it. It was a bit of history. While there, I found a number of glowing ghouls. Perhaps they were politicians before the war? So I've also killed a bit of history. That's a unique claim.

There was a Fat Man there too.

I went back to the main street again and looked around some more. I found a hotel where a Brotherhood of Steel paladin was sleeping. I left them alone, and decided against stealing anything in there for once.

Later, Dogmeat sniffed out a scavenger who was hanging around the area. We traded. He gave me lunch, and I gave him shitloads of books. Two _Special Ops Training _manuals, one _Flamethrower Recipes_, one _Internal Medicine_, one _Pugilism_, one old _Grognak _issue, one _Dean's_, two _Tumblers Today_, two copies of _Lying, Congressional Style_, and one other piece of shite. I don't even remember what it was. Cookbook I think?

After that I headed through a metro tunnel again and found myself in Seward Square, location of the Rangers' compound. There was some chaos going on with Talons and super mutants, but it was nothing another artillery strike couldn't deal with. Been finding a lot of those today.

Then there was some crazy psycho fuck ranting about a worm and some trees in the north and holding some guy hostage. I killed him and disarmed his explosives. Fucking mini nukes; no idea how he got them. Hostage was grateful.

And of course, after that was all done, I went off to see the Rangers. Finally, after everything, I was recognised for my help. I was given a choice of either armour or Brick's modified minigun, Eugene, for payment. I picked Eugene, because when you have power armour, anything less is not worth it.

The others had rewards for me too. Donovan will repair equipment if I need it from now on, while Butcher can provide medical services. Reilly also had additional jobs for me. She gave me a geo-mapping module, which I can record map information from my Pipboy on and give back to her with location data for payment.

That's convenient for me, because I've been wandering D.C. for the past few days making my own map of the place, and I also mapped out a lot of the wasteland around the city.

In addition to the locations already mentioned in previous entries, I have mapped out twenty eight new locations in the previous few days, (most of which I split into several locations just now so that I could get paid more for it).

In no particular order, I mapped out Vernon Square, (divided into the north section, the east section, the station, the hospital, the hotel, and the Vault-Tec HQ); Dupont Circle, (divided into the east, northeast, west, and station); Pennsylvania Avenue, (divided into the north, northwest, south, east, the entrance to Metro Central, and the plaza before the white house); Chevy Chase, (divided into the north, east and GNR building); Takoma, (divided into the initial entrance area I've dubbed Takoma Park, and the factory area I've dubbed Takoma Industrial); and Seward Square, (divided into the southeast, northwest, the north part where the metro is, and the ranger compound).

Yes, I got paid for mapping Seward Square too. Even the Rangers' own compound. Sweet.

I also added the Museum of History, Friendship Heights, and the White House itself.

It still wasn't that late out by then, but I was exhausted anyway. My two days in D.C. have been as busy as four outside it. It just makes sense for me to stay here at the compound tonight and get into the habit of sleeping in half days.

At least Dogmeat likes it here. He didn't like Underworld quite so much. I think it's because of the smell. Must be even worse for a dog than for me. I got nothing against ghouls really, but fuck, those guys stink worse than Moriarty must do by now.

**Day 32: Business as Usual.**

The metro tunnels in D.C. go everywhere, so I've made it my quest to scour every corner of this blasted ruin and find any and all hidden treasure it may hide. Now that I know there's a ghoul city in the middle of it, I have a convenient place to sell my finds too. So why not?

I mean, fuck it. It's not like dad would actually be at Rivet City if I went there right now, right? He's bound to have left it by now. And if he hasn't already, then he'll probably stay there a little while more. I've got time.

First we went back to Pennsylvania avenue, this time taking a sewer line instead of a metro, just to see what was down there. There was a stash of ammo, but not much else.

So, then we picked another unexplored metro tunnel and went through it, ending up in a new district called Georgetown. Now that I'm getting paid for mapping places, I am doing so with new vigour. I marked the north, south, east and west ends of the place as separate locations, (quadruple your money!), and searched the place for anything of importance.

By far my most depressing find was a still functioning Mr. Handy in a residential home, which after I input the command in the terminal to see what it would do, sung a poem about mankind perishing. I don't know what the poem is or who it's by, but whoever they are can go fuck themselves. Not just because it was so ironic given the situation, but also because the robot was singing it to a child's corpse as part of its routine to read bedtime stories.

I would have cried at the sight if I weren't a strong, manly man who never cries at anything ever. Instead I drank some beer and did some bench pressing. Stop reminding me of what a shitty world I live in, random robot butler!

The hotel was far less depressing. Just the standard super mutant attacks, mini nukes and stealth boys. Convenient that I've been finding these again since I picked up that extra Fat Man from the Brotherhood of Steel. I'm surprised that Lyons forgot to demand this back from me. I'd have thought that this was an expensive piece of hardware.

The grocery store had nothing of note, but the Radiation King next door housed a scavenger, whom I talked to about the horribly depressing sight I saw in the house, and whom I certainly did not break down in front of, and who definitely didn't need to pat me on the back and give me life advice. Because we were both masculine warriors who need no emotions, and we concluded my story with mutual hearty laughs and a round of shirtless wrestling. Not gay.

He did take what guns and new books I had found off my hands though. Two copies of _Lying_, one of _Tumblers_, and one of _Flamethrower Recipes_. Three I had found today, but one of the _Lying _books was picked up yesterday in Seward.

While in there, he also directed me to a leaflet advertisement for a group called the Regulators, apparently dedicated to fighting evil in the Capital Wasteland. Says it might help me. It provides a map to some place up north, and tells me to contact someone called Sorona Cruz there if I'm interested. I really am, actually, if only to make sure that I don't somehow make their list.

I'm just shocked to learn that there even _is _a law enforcement agency operating in the Capital Wasteland, because it sure doesn't fucking seem like it sometimes. I thought I was the only one around dispensing justice, and I'm just as much of a villain as some of the people I kill.

I looked around Georgetown more after that. I found one raider infested metro tunnel to follow, and it just led me back out to Dupont again, so fuck that. I took a side path into another tunnel, which was mirelurk infested instead, and led me into a utility station, and that had mirelurks _and _raiders, _at the same time_. SHOCK HORROR.

It soon led me above ground into a place called Arlington, which hosts a massive cemetery. I was planning to explore and map this place too, but then I realised I was on the other side of the damn Potomac river, so I decided to mark my immediate location as Arlington Cemetery North and make a note to come back here later.

So I returned to Georgetown again, and then explored a different underground route. This led me through some raider filled sewers, and I emerged on the far west side of the D.C. ruins again. This time though, it was more interesting. This was coincidentally the place where Moira had sent me to test out her molerat repellent, and there were several here.

I figured, why not? So I started bashing them, and then they exploded. All in all, I'd say the repellent was a huge success.

I mapped the sewer entrance, and since I saw a sign nearby a local building that seemed to suggest someone was living in it, I went in to say hello. The inhabitants were a scumbag named Dukov, who I instantly disliked, and his two prostitutes. I might kill him if I feel like it later. If I start feeling a need to. But I highly doubt I'll run out of people to kill in D.C. with all the super mutants, raiders, ghouls, mirelurks and other hideous abominations around.

Still, it's an inhabited location. As far as I'm concerned, that means it's important enough for me to map and thus get paid for discovering.

Back to Georgetown yet again, and this time exploring the last metro there I hadn't checked, leading to the Mall. That's the name I've given to the area where the museum is. The station where I came out I mapped as Mall Northwest. From there, I returned to the Museum of History, and Underworld. Dogmeat is not happy to be here, but I am. This place fascinates me.

I spent the remainder of my day getting to know the locals, and learning the settlement's history, just as I did back in Megaton when I first arrived there.

I already met Doc Barrows and Nurse Graves, the two resident medical practitioners. Notably, they're studying ghouls and trying to find a way to slow or cure the ghoul condition. An admirable and noble goal, if I do say so myself. They've even actually captured live glowing ones to study. My inner scientist applauds them.

Winthrop is the technician of Underworld. I met him already too. He repaired my stuff. Much like Walter did, he's asked me to bring him scrap metal to help fix up the place. I'll keep it in mind for him.

Carol and Greta are a lesbian couple, (I think), and run Carol's Place together. That's the place I rented out last time I stayed. It serves food too. Carol told me her story, which was interesting. She's been here since the Great War, incidentally, and her and the other survivors of the immediate blasts actually ghoulified while setting up the town here.

She's also a sort of adoptive mother to Gob from Megaton, and was glad to hear when I told her about him, and how he's running his own bar.

Willow is the woman who scouts outside the museum and watches for super mutants, humans and other travellers. Snowflake is a jet user and hairdresser. Patchwork is the town drunk. Quinn is a ghoul who goes out trading across the wastes and occasionally returns to Underworld to supply Tulip. Cerberus is a reprogrammed Mister Gutsy, who hates ghouls, but thanks to his programming is forced to protect the settlement anyway. Nothing more to say about any of them.

I saved the really interesting stuff for last though.

There were two people of note in the local bar. It was called the Ninth Circle, and it was tended by some bastard called Ahzrukhal, and guarded by his bouncer, Charon.

I asked him about Charon, who was a bit weird in that he refused to talk to me at all and directed me to his boss instead. Turns out Charon had some weird thing where he absolutely HAD to follow the orders of whoever held his contract. Not because he was a slave or anything. It was all his choice. But for some reason he chose to blindly follow his contact holder no matter what, even if he personally found it morally reprehensible.

This was relevant to my interests, so I purchased his contract, even though Ahzrukhal wanted to give me the contract for free if I murdered Greta for him. Well, I didn't want to. I was actually planning on murdering him later that night for that request. But wouldn't you know it? When I told Charon he worked for me now, and he realised Ahzrukhal didn't have his contract anymore, he beat me to the punch and killed Ahzrukhal himself. In front of the whole bar.

What a stand-up guy.

Then there's Tulip. Oh boy, Tulip.

Turns out there's more levels to her than I thought. She's part of some secret society dedicated to helping androids escape from the Commonwealth where they're made. She confessed this after I found a holotape in her shop about the android, talking about how they had all the stuff they needed now to perform facial reconstruction surgery.

I don't think the Railroad want me hunting down this android guy, but screw them. Real life androids, man! I _need_ to see this.

Before I forget, I also sold her one copy each of _Dean's Electronics_, _Nikola Tesla and You_, _D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine_, U_.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes_, and _Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual_, as well as two other unwanted pre-war books and guns. And she's provided me with the one single interesting looking book I've seen so far that I haven't already read. It's called _Paradise Lost_, and I can't wait to read it some time.

I also obtained from her shop a set of schematics for a rifle that fires railway spikes, which I want to build once I get back to Megaton just for the novelty of it.

Oh, and on one final note, there a guy called Crowley here who has a thing about bigots who have a problem with ghouls. He kept a list of prominent ones, and offered me a hundred caps to kill each one of the four remaining on the list, so long as I did it with a head shot. Any other way it was twenty five caps. He also wants something personal from each to prove I did it, like a key or a ring.

This guy gives me serious Burke vibes. I don't trust him. Interestingly, I looked at the list, and found two names I recognise. Tenpenny and Dukov. I informed him that Tenpenny was already dead, and he actually believed me, but he was surprised that he hadn't already heard about it. He says that news of Tenpenny's death should have travelled fast.

Maybe it's because I hid the body and no-one actually knows for sure if he's dead? Or maybe that head of security realised that he's the next highest one up on the hierarchy and took over the tower while covering it all up? All possibilities. All worthy of consideration.

Dukov though...Hmm...I'll pay him a visit later. See what's what. This guy has my attention now.

Anyway, it's been an eventful day, and for now I just want to sleep it off. Tomorrow promises a brand new adventure, with my new assistant, and my new goals. I'm coming for you, Replicated Man.

**Day 33: Shopping in the Mall.**

FUCK super mutants. Fuck all the super mutants!

So, once I got out of Underworld this morning, I checked over my map and decided to start checking all the undiscovered areas I had made a note of.

Charon and Dogmeat of course came along.

First we went into the museum metro again before moving on to the Metro Central. That place I went over with a fine toothed comb, though I had already been there several times, until I was certain I had discovered all its secrets. One of them being a dead slave with a note on his body talking of a place north of Canterbury Commons called the Temple of the Union. Another place to check out added to my ever-growing list.

We took the exit up to Pennsylvania Avenue again. There was a single metro tunnel there I hadn't yet explored and which I wanted to, but it turned out to just lead back to somewhere else in the Mall. I mapped my exit as Mall Northeast.

Exiting the place, I came across super mutants, Talons, and all other kinds of scum. I decided then that today's project was clearing the Mall out. No small task, even though I was at the top of my game and assisted this time. We went from one end to the other, killing everything we came across aside from Willow and some Brotherhood of Steel guys.

It was a bastard to do, and took half of the day, but we did it. But even then, the job wasn't done. We had to head into the underground areas, like that fucking bunker, the museum metro directly beneath the place, and the mirelurk lair. I mapped the area near the lair as Mall Southwest.

I mapped several other locations around the area too. The Museum of Technology. The Lincoln Memorial. The Washington Monument. The National Archives. The Capitol Building. And the Museum Authority Building.

I've made it our mission to check out and clear them all. The Washington Monument and Museum Authority being the clear exceptions because they're an already a maintained Brotherhood of Steel outpost and boarded up respectively.

Well, the Lincoln Memorial was outside already, so it was easiest to check out. There were some shady looking guys there, who I didn't trust from the outset. Then I met their leader, and found out who they were.

Hey, do you know what Abraham Lincoln is famous for? Once upon a time, America as a nation supported slavery. Specifically of black people. Lincoln is remembered and honoured even today because he brought an end to the slave trade, even though it meant fighting a civil war.

Today, his legacy lives on. I'm sure he'd be honoured, and humbled, to know that there now exists no racial prejudice among humans. Because in this new post-apocalyptic world, where every man is truly equal, now even black people are allowed to take, keep and sell slaves, as evidenced by the fact that the slavers at the Lincoln memorial were multi-ethnic.

Isn't that wonderful?

Well, in a way, yes. In terms of social progress, I'd say the elimination of racism amongst humans is a definite plus. But this whole slavery business is still iffy to me. While I'm happy that who gets enslaved isn't decided based on race anymore, I don't like the fact that it's seemingly random like a lottery either.

Ideally, you'd have it so that there is a wasteland police force like the Regulators who can fairly and accurately create laws and a justice system for the wasteland which would prohibit the activities of raiders and other such scum, who would capture criminals instead of killing them, and then you'd enslave the convicts and sell them instead.

And to prevent this system being played, it would be punishable by enslavement to free slaves, and punishable by death to own a slave if you are yourself guilty of or later commit an offence that could be punished by enslavement. That way, you can hopefully avoid raiders buying back their own people.

As you can see, I've put a lot of thought into this system, and I debated with the slaver leader for hours about this, long into the night. He raised several good counterpoints, and we argued ethics and morality in context on enslavement, as well as the economic side of it, and the practicality of setting up such a system. He agreed that it was theoretically a good idea, but that it just wouldn't be possible in practice.

I nodded, sadly agreed that he was right, and then I shot him in the head and me, Charon and Dogmeat proceeded to kill everyone else at the memorial.

What? I'm fine with slavery and all, but I can't let it continue if it's not on my terms. That simply won't do.

Day of killing and looting netted lots of guns, lots of ammo, one copy each of _Pugilism_, _Dean's_, _Duck and Cover!_, and a previously read _Grognak _issue, and two copies of the Chinese stealth manual. Also just realised there's like seven Nuka Cola Quantum bottles and a stealth boy with me that I hadn't even mentioned in these journals yet.

Should I even bother mentioning stealth boys and Quantums? Or these books for that matter? Why am I even bothering to keep a record of the shit I sell?

Oh yeah, that's right. Boredom.

**Day 34: Fixing Things For Three Dog.**

Today's target was the Museum of Technology.

It had a lot of interesting exhibits on American history, including ones about the space race and moon landing, which I was always enamoured with as a child.

There was a replica of the Valiant 11 there, the lunar lander used in the Virgo II mission which saw Captains Richard Wade, Mark Garris, and Michael Hagen land on the moon. And I even saw the skeleton of Captain Carl Bell there! He showed those commies who was BOSS by being the first man in space! This guy was like my idol as a kid.

I'm not even a patriotic individual, given that the country I supposedly belong to was wiped out in nuclear hellfire hundreds of years ago, but damn it, how can I not punch the air in triumph at the mere thought of such a thing? First man in space! AMERICA, son!

These guys were fucking heroes, and if any of them were alive today I would stalk them obsessively. Learning about outer space is so much fun.

I wish I could go to space...

This shows you how much I'm psyched about the space program thing. I got so excited about it, I haven't even mentioned the vault replica that was also in the museum, made as a promotion for the vaults. I have surprisingly little to say about _that_. It was a novelty, but unremarkable.

Well, either way, I was there in the first place because I needed the relay dish on the lander. It seemed a shame to desecrate it, but in this ruined world, it's a simple fact of life that the history of the old world is something to be thought on and admired, but not something to be preserved at the expense of the present. The relics of the old world have only one role in the present, and that is to help us rebuild.

And rebuild is what we did. Three Dog was very happy, and summoned me back in a live broadcast on GNR, which I've been listening to a lot while in D.C.

In other news, Charon continues to impress. The man doesn't talk much, but he's a crack shot and doesn't die easy. Certainly not as easy as Dogmeat, who had several near death encounters yesterday, and even more today as we went up against the super mutant residents of the museum.

Also, while in the museum, I found that the terminals were full of messages from some guy called Prime for another guy called Jiggs. I think Jiggs was expected to show up at the museum at some point, and the terminals had a set of number puzzles for him to solve so that he could get a location from the final terminal, telling them where to meet to split the loot that Prime had already taken.

It was easy to figure out. His name was Prime. I had to choose the prime numbers. Clever, actually. Easy for _me _to decipher, and presumably Jiggs too, but the usual wasteland trash wouldn't have a clue what any of the numbers had in common.

The location is a diner in Jury Street Metro Station. I'm going there at soonest opportunity.

Anyway, after that, I got back to Three Dog at GNR, and he gave me the key to the weapons cache as promised. The weapons cache in Hamilton's hideaway. Looking back at my old journals, yes, that is the place with the door I failed to get by. Looks like this little excursion paid off after all.

There were still things to do. I headed back to the Mall, because there was a metro tunnel there I'd yet to explore. Well, less a metro tunnel, more an irradiated cave full of shit. Hazmat disposal site L5. Full of ghouls, of course. Fortunately, Charon has no problem with killing ferals, and in fact he's exceptionally good at it.

Still can't get him to talk to me though.

We emerged into a plaza full of super mutants. Cleared them out, with some effort, and explored. Not much of note. But we did find something there. A grave. A grave for a man named Henry. I found a note in it.

The writer and two others named Kaya and Emmet were from Canterbury Commons, and they came into the city looking for a woman called Cheryl, who had apparently been to a place called the Citadel, where she was given medicine, and sent off to the Rangers' compound. That's where the party was heading next.

Curious.

I marked L'Enfant Plaza on the map, and I marked L'Enfant south separately so I could get more money. As I will do to any district in D.C. that I think is big enough that I can get away with it.

The most interesting other thing in L'Enfant was the Capitol Post building. There were two things that caught my eye in there. One, a freshly decapitated body belonging to a man named Gibson, who carried with him a key and a piece of paper simply telling me to "search the house." Two, old newspaper articles.

There were six that I was particularly interested in. One about food riots going on before the war, one about a child serial killer called the Pint-Sized Slasher, one about the U.S. annexing Canada, one about the United Nations disbanding, and the two that interested me most, "Development of Super Weapon Confirmed" and "Communists Crushed, Alaska Liberated!", both concerning the war.

It jumped out to me because the former made mention of General Chase, and both were talking about the Anchorage campaign. Oh, I don't need no pre-war newspaper to tell me about Alaska. I was there. I experienced it first hand. That place was a special kind of hell.

Still, I couldn't spend all day dwelling on old papers. Though, I was able to at least get a surprised reaction from Charon by telling him that I had been at Anchorage when he asked why I was so interested. For a brief moment, he thought I was a ghoul too, because I had yet to take off my helmet in front of him by then.

I told him I wasn't a ghoul, and even showed him, but didn't explain how I could have been at Anchorage. I just let him stew on that and come to his own conclusions. Maybe it'll teach him not to give me the silent treatment.

We found another way out of L'Enfant and decided to explore that too for the fuck of it. It was an irradiated metro tunnel full of ghouls with nothing much of interest. Charon rather liked it. I did not.

It just led out to the Potomac river. So I mapped the location and turned back to return the way we came.

A long time later, we were back in Seward Square again, and I was consulting the terminal in the Rangers' compound for information on the search party looking for Cheryl. Apparently, Reilly sent them in the direction of a bridge on the Potomac, where we had just came from. At that point we couldn't be asked to go chasing that too.

Instead, we took a look at the map, saw how close Rivet City was looking, and made a run for that. Seward Square had one last metro tunnel we hadn't checked. The last one this side of the Potomac I think. It was full of raiders, but they weren't even a challenge. Barely worth noting anymore.

When we left the tunnels, we were ambushed by Talon Company mercenaries. This time, I didn't even need to worry about them. Charon took care of them for me. He's about the same level as a Talon merc himself. He's got a combat shotgun and armour just like theirs. Only difference tactically is that he's got more experience than any of them.

He's getting slowly more curious about me though, especially now that he knows I'm dangerous enough to warrant assassins.

By then though, we were there. Rivet City. Or at least, the station just before Rivet City, known as Anacostia. I marked Anacostia and Rivet City separately. The place is a massive, half-sunken battleship with a bridge between the ship and the platform we had to climb to get up there. Which they can raise and lower as they please.

The head of security personally greeted us as we entered. Guy called Harkness. This place looks nice too. I'm a little concerned that even here there's a water beggar outside the gate, even though this place seems to have no entry requirements other than "don't fuck shit up."

I'm suspicious of this one. I wasn't of the other two, but this guy...

Anyway, it was too late for market or to see anyone by the time we got there, so I just went and rented a room in a hotel that'd let me, Dogmeat and Charon stay. The proprietor was Vera Weatherly. Bryan Wilks' auntie. I was able to tell her what happened and ask her to take him in, and she was happy to.

Tomorrow, I set out to bring Bryan the good news. It'll take all day to get there and back again with him, but it'll be worth the trip. The boy's finally got a home.

**Day 35: Today is a Day for Family.**

I love happy endings.


	6. Week Six

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Six**

**Day 36: Tightening the Rivets.**

Ahhhh...So where was I?

Oh, right! Sorry for the briefness of my last entry, diary. At the time it was something like two in the morning and I had spent the day running all the way to Grayditch and back again, with the entire run back to Rivet City also being an escort of Bryan Wilks. It was a largely uneventful day, and I didn't feel much of a need to expand on it in a journal. I just wanted to sleep again.

All you need to know is that three major things happened.

One, Bryan now lives in comfort with his Auntie Vera here in Rivet City, two, I found another grave belonging to Emmet from that search party with a note saying that they're going to continue searching, though it's vague about where, and three, I stopped by Dukov's place while on my journey too, and he had some very interesting things to tell me regarding Crowley.

I think I was right to be suspicious of him, because Dukov claims that he's not a racist at all, and seems to believe that Crowley wants him dead for his key. Apparently, Tenpenny hired Crowley and four others some time ago to do a job northwest in some place called Fort Constantine, I think to get some kind of gun or something?

I don't know. What I do know is that of the four people he wanted dead, one hired him for this job, and three others worked with him on it. The only one of his former associates Crowley doesn't want me to blast in the head is a woman called Tara. I don't know why. This warrants further investigation.

I threatened him into surrendering his key either way. It'll act as proof I killed him should I choose to hand it in for pay, but far more likely I'm going to collect these keys for myself and see just what it is in Constantine he wants so bad.

But whatever. That was yesterday, and this entry should be for today. And today, I explored the glorious Rivet City, while my companions just wandered. And even though I've only been here a day, not counting the two days I spent here mostly sleeping or elsewhere, I've already started making waves.

First order of business was finding out about dad, so I went to the science lab to see what the deal was there. I never entered though, because I met the woman I was looking for, Dr. Madison Li, in the corridor just outside. She said that they worked together on something called Project Purity back in the day, along with my mother, the goal of which was to purify the entire tidal basin to bring about fresh, clean drinking water for all.

Supposedly, dad came back to see her because he has an interest in restarting the project, which is based out of the old Jefferson memorial. She told me all about him and my mother and the project, though I still didn't completely trust her word.

Just to be sure, I broke into her quarters and looked around a bit. I found three holotapes in there, made by dad. Old ones, dating back to his original work on the project. They talk about mom, and her pregnancy with me, and the project's many setbacks and the strain on their relationship with the Brotherhood of Steel, who were meant to protect them from mutants while this was going on.

They confirm her story, so Li wasn't lying like I suspected, but I don't regret stealing these.

I... don't know what my next move is. Dad could be in the Jefferson memorial right now, but I just don't want to go there right now. I'm not sure what it is. Maybe I'm afraid to see him after all this time? Regardless, I know I'll have to swallow my pride and go there sometime soon. Tomorrow, most likely.

Today though, I just moped around town a bit longer, checking everything out.

The next most interesting thing of that day that happened to me is the influence I had on local politics. Bannon, the clothing store guy, is a member of the city council, and a rival shopkeeper called Seagrave Holmes was looking to take his seat. At Bannon's request, I did some snooping and discovered that Seagrave was involved with slavers way back when.

Now, he _has _put that behind him and was refusing to work with the slave boss, this Eulogy Jones person, but he was still a slaver, and Bannon as far as I can tell never was. Ergo, Bannon is probably the better person to be in a position of power in Rivet City. I gave the letter to a high ranking security guard, and Seagrave is dealt with.

Not _dead _dealt with. Just no longer plotting against Bannon. I may have to rectify that with my shotgun at a later date, but for the time being, Bannon was thankful enough for my work to give me a discount at his store and some schematics for a deathclaw gauntlet. Yes, I know I already have schematics for that, but his ones were better. So there.

After that, I wandered for a while, getting to know all the inhabitants of the city.

Flak and Shrapnel are two guys who run the gun store. They gave me a shiny new Chinese assault rifle in exchange for my not-quite-as-shiny American one, and provided Charon with some much needed combat armour and alternate weapons. I'm pretty sure they're gay too. I have no evidence for that, but they just set off all kinds of alarms on my gaydar.

And my gaydar is never wrong.

The Staleys are a father and daughter team that run a restaurant, with Gary acting as the chef, and Angela serving as the waitress and entertaining fantasies of seducing an acolyte of the local church.

Speaking of, yeah, there's a church. A Christian church, too! Not worshipping the boat's engines or anything; this is a legitimate continuation of the old world religion. And as far as I can tell, it hasn't much distorted the original faith.

I didn't even think about it until now, because we had education about old world religion and practiced it in the vault, but it's very likely that dad learned about Christianity and heard his favourite _Revelations _quote for the first time here in Rivet City, probably in the same church.

Father Clifford, the man who runs the church, was kind enough to tell me all about the church's history too, as well as Saint Monica. I decided to donate some caps. Because that's what you do at church. That and pray. And listen to sermons. But the sermons only happen on Sundays and today is a Friday, so none of that for now.

Then I got acquainted with two very different families. The Young family, who are a couple and their daughter, and the Hargrave family, which is just some drunken, abusive bitch and her troublemaker son. They're an interesting study in polar opposites. Right now I'm debating whether or not to kill Tammy Hargrave. I think that boy will be genuinely better off without her.

I also met another couple who work in the marketplace peddling drugs. As part of a store, not as shady dealers who hang around in bars, though that's not _much _better. The husband is the biggest addict of all though, so I guess karma is real after all.

I stopped by the American history museum. Yes, they have one of those too. Not very accurate history, mind you, but the guy who runs the place is enthusiastic at least. He wants me to go out and loot some museum in the D.C. ruins for the declaration of independence. Another task to add to the list.

There was also the Muddy Rudder, a bar full of lowlifes doing lowlife things. I don't know what I expected, but at least the alcohol was good.

And the final person of note I met, aside from Dr. Preston, who was nice but unremarkable, is Mei Wong. A former slave to none other than my original nemesis, Alistair Tenpenny, she apparently escaped captivity and is hiding out here in Rivet City, terrified to death of an agent of Paradise Falls named Sister, who is also here.

Looks like I'm not done cleaning the scum out of D.C. just yet. Already that's three people potentially on my list in this city alone. I still haven't made up my mind about killing that asshole Dukov yet, and now that I've got a name to put to this slavery business, Eulogy Jones isn't safe either. Not to mention Crowley, the scumfuck, who I want to teach a lesson about honesty to.

At least I'm not hurting for targets if my urges start acting up again. Though, I think I may want to stagger those out a bit. Save some of them for later.

In inventory news, I sold at the marketplace:

● One _Nikola Tesla and You_.

● One _Guns and Bullets _.

● One _U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes_.

● One _Big Book of Science_.

● One _Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual_.

● One _Pugilism Illustrated_.

● Lots of guns and ammunition I picked up from super mutants and raiders in D.C.

● Lots of chems and medicine that I don't need.

I've also picked up three stealth boys and one Quantum since the last time I mentioned Quantums or stealth boys. Don't ask me when I picked these up though, because I honestly don't remember. I just have three stealth boys and one Quantum more than my journals have previously indicated.

Hmm...

**Day 37: An Average Day in the Capital Wasteland.**

Today was weird.

So, first of all I set out from Rivet City with Charon and Dogmeat and began my trek towards the Jefferson memorial. On my way there, a bunch of super mutants get in the way. I'm in the middle of dashing about this place and blasting body parts off of them with my shotgun, when out of nowhere, some creepy mofo in a trenchcoat and fedora appears, kills a mutant that was about to get me, and vanishes into thin air.

Who the fuck was that guy, why the fuck did he save me, and why the fuck did he run away after?

Secondly, we get into the memorial itself, (naturally added to the map for Reilly). After fighting more super mutants and searching the place, I find my dad's quarters, full of scotch and holotapes. There were three personal logs there, with dad talking to himself about resurrecting the project and getting help from Li. It was rather poignant.

Then I found another tape of dad feeling up mom while she was working. Ew.

Thirdly, some woman then came right the fuck out of nowhere to yell at me for trying to find out who the android is, because androids are people too, yada, yada, yada. I only wanted to meet the android, and here's this bitch trying to guilt trip me for being curious about the modern equivalent to a mythical fucking creature apparently walking the wasteland. So, I naturally told her to go fuck herself.

She took exception to that. I think the encounter ended in a firefight. My memory is a bit hazy. All I recall by that point is lots of blood, shouting, gunshots and my armoured fists pounding something into the dirt.

Fourthly, Three Dog on the radio starts talking about having once seen trees. Living ones. Just like that psycho by the Rangers' headquarters. I'm starting to think this might not be bullshit.

Anyway, after that I resumed my exploration of the memorial. I found loads more holotapes. In the sub-basement, old ones where dad states his intentions to abandon the project. In the rotunda, site of the main project itself, I found the clue I needed. Three tapes stating that while in Vault 101, he continued research for Purity, and found information about a "Garden of Eden Creation Kit", or "G.E.C.K.", developed by someone called Braun.

Dad wanted to find a G.E.C.K. for Purity. Vault 101 lacked one. He thinks that there might be one to be found in Vault 112, the missing mystery vault that not even Vault-Tec HQ had the location of. Apparently, it's hidden beneath a garage near Evergreen Mills.

Guess I have my next destination.

After that, we headed back to Rivet City to stay the night. There I met the fifth thing that made my day weird. Dr. Zimmer, a representative of the Institute, and the Commonwealth, who created the android. And he's hunting for it here. And he wants my help in doing so. Told me to ask Dr. Preston for him, while he was waiting to speak with Dr. Li.

I don't know if I even should. I'm actually rather conflicted about this. That girl from the Railroad was probably trying to stop me because she thought I was working with this guy. Yet...he holds the secrets to everything I was curious about.

He even has another android with him working as his bodyguard! Armitage his name is. I swear, I must have orgasmed when I was told who he was.

I go to bed feeling uneasy, but also excited. I read _Paradise Lost _at long last to calm my nerves. Damn good stuff, actually. Guess I know now why it was considered a classic. But it only distracted me for so long. Who knows what happens now?

Also I should confess right now that the Rivet City science lab housed another bobblehead. I stole it. Do you expect any less?

**Day 38: Sunday Stroll.**

Busy day. I started with covertly killing Sister, which earned eternal thanks from Mei Wong, though Charon was less than happy. Then I met one of the men on Crowley's list, Ted Strayer. He's actually my age, and it wasn't him that accompanied Crowley and the others on the mission, but his father. This guy just inherited the key, and for that, Crowley wants him dead. Cunt.

Still got the key though. Convinced him to give it to me. After that, I convinced a suicidal old man to stop being suicidal, because I can just do that, because I'm awesome.

Then I attended mass. No, you didn't hear wrong. I went to church. I don't know if I believe in God or not, but the gesture feels right at least. Even if it's silently thinking it to myself, confessing sins definitely makes me feel better. And I've got a lot of them. Some of them I'm even sorry for.

Charon refused to attend for some reason.

Well, that was that. From there, I decided I that androids or no, I needed to get out of Rivet City for a little while. That place was suffocating me. I didn't even care that I was for once surrounded by people of vault-level intelligence. I just needed a break.

We made a trek up north again, leaving Rivet City behind and heading back towards Megaton. Though, we only got as far as Dukov's place before it started getting too dark to continue.

Dukov was unwilling to house me and my companions, but by that point I was sick of this guy and sick of all the bullshit people were putting me through, so I introduced him to Eugene and painted the walls with his blood. Not the precise headshot kill that Crowley wanted, but he can go die in a fire for all I care.

Charon seemed to think the hookers were a threat as well, so when they started acting up after I pulled the minigun, he put a bullet in their heads too. And that still didn't stop him from acting like _I_ was a bastard for putting down Dukov. Hypocritical jackass.

He and I are having ideological differences. Even if it is just to mutter his disapproval at me though, I'm glad I've finally started getting some kind of reaction out of him. The man is a stone wall unless something crazy or interesting is going on.

That's why I was so pleased to have him with me yesterday when all the weird shit was going down. Even if he never actually questioned things aloud like I did, his face at times revealed his confusion in a most amusing manner.

Anyway, tomorrow we get home.

**Day 39: Bitches in the Bachelor Pad.**

Uggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ...

So I get back to Megaton today, and what's the first thing I have to deal with?

That great cunt Lucy West did indeed break into my house while I was gone, likely looking to murder me just as I suspected. And like a good remorseless kill-droid, my butler cooked her to perfection, so I had a nice little present when I walked through the door.

Jesus Christ, the awkward levels were off the charts. I marched through town in power armour carrying a roasted corpse slung over my shoulder and dropped it in front of Sheriff Simms just as his son walked out the door, and then I had to explain to the both of them that "I just found her like this. In my house."

Yes, it's true, but come on. Does that _honestly _sound like a rational explanation for this shit?

Lucky for me Simms really likes me, because he actually believed me. I think they buried her somewhere and had a funeral, but I didn't attend. I had no desire to after what I suspect she was in my house to do. Simms and the others though said that they understand completely after what she was saying about me.

Further pressing though finally revealed the truth. Turns out Lucy _didn't _know that I massacred Arefu. She heard that Arefu was wiped out, and assumed that I was responsible. By sheer coincidence, she happened to be right, while everyone else in town is still on my side over the issue because they think I didn't do it, and that she was making baseless assumptions and jumping to conclusions.

*Slow clap.*

Bravo, Capital Wasteland. That is a whole new level of fucking stupid right there.

Moira was glad to receive my findings on the molerats at least, and has given me my final assignment for this chapter, which is to go to the Anchorage memorial and plant a device there to help her gain information on mirelurks, preferably without killing any.

I spoke to Gob up in his saloon after that. Told him I saw Carol in Underworld, and passed on a message from her to him. It was nice to see him happy about something. That ghoul deserves the good fortune he's come into since I intervened. After so many years of what can only be described as slavery, he's living the dream.

If I'm not horribly misreading things, I think he might even have a thing going with Nova now. Which is disgusting, but sweet, simultaneously. Charon had a similar opinion when I told him my suspicions, which surprised me. He tells me he has no interest in human women now, just like how I imagine most humans feel about ghouls.

How does becoming a ghoul affect one's sexuality anyway? Are all ghouls just attracted to rotting flesh like they themselves have? If so, would a ghoul fucking an actual corpse be a normal thing for them? I want to ask Charon these questions, but I don't want to seem racist.

Bah. I'm thinking too much about this. The last several days have been chaotic enough without me giving myself additional worries. Now that I've had a relatively normal day for once, I want to just appreciate it and be quiet and still for a moment.

My normal days involve finding extra crispy bodies in my house and wondering about how ghoul sex works. In the vault, my normal days had me fix a Pipboy or two and hang out with Amata. What have I become?

**Day 40: Trekking Across the Wastes.**

Today I stashed away everything I've collected on my journeys through D.C. to lighten the load somewhat. The bobblehead from Rivet City found a nice home on my stand. The Nuka machine upstairs is now filled to the brim with Quantums. My fridge is full of spare preserved food if I ever feel like eating in.

And my clothes and armour locker has seen the additions the baseball cap I found in Takoma and Vance's coat, which while still nice looking, I haven't actually worn at any point, despite its purpose ostensibly being casual clothes I can wear while not out fighting. Even in Rivet City I walked around in power armour, just minus the helmet. That's how paranoid I am that I'll get into a fight.

And if there ever is a situation where I want something lighter than power armour, my backpack can carry the Chinese stealth armour just fine.

For weapons I've changed my armament again. This time I wanted to offload most of the heavy equipment I've picked up. So I broke down my old minigun and used it to fix up Eugene, and did the same to the Fat Man I used to have before I got this new one. So now I have only one of each, in better condition. Though, they're still heavy as fuck, so I left them in Megaton, along with the flamer.

I mean, come on. I'm already carrying enough weapons to kill anything that moves. Between the revolver, SMG, shotgun, sniper rifle, hunting rifle, assault rifle, plasma rifle, Gauss rifle, Stabhappy and deathclaw gauntlet, I think I'm covered. Charon wanted a decent knife too though, so I gave him a trench knife I picked up in the vault after that Anchorage simulation. I used it to cut myself out of the neural interface suit when it wouldn't come off.

After that, I decided to head north in the direction of Big Town. Rather than go directly there though, we meandered about.

We first stopped in Hamilton's Hideaway, the location of the cache that Three Dog gave me the key for. It contained a copy of _Guns and Bullets_, a mini nuke, a stealth boy, and some other weapons and armour unworthy of comment which I made Charon carry.

Big Town was stop number two. They took most of the cache off me and gave me caps in return. The place is doing a lot better now, and they've started trading with the outside world now that they're safe to do so. I later in the day met a trader on his way to Big Town who said the same. He was going there to sell parts for their robots.

Then we went to see Agatha. She was disappointed I hadn't returned with the violin, but I told her that I had made progress in finding the vault, after the trip to the Vault-Tec Headquarters. She asked if I had regenerated any more limbs or was seeing any skin peeling off yet, but I told her no. Charon's face was great, especially since no-one actually explained to him what we were talking about. Sooner or later, he's going to _have _to start asking questions. I'll break him yet.

Doc Hoff and Crow were also there. Crow paid me for the rest of the Wheaton stash I gave him a while back, and from Hoff I purchased more schematics. Turns out that he had designs for the Nuka grenades too, only his actually show a way I can exploit the design to make more grenades from the same materials. Surprised a doctor has weapon schematics, but I'm not complaining.

Then I found myself in Minefield again, finally giving me a chance to correct my past mistakes and get back that crappy romance novel I left to rot last time, and the other abandoned books too.

While there, I also found in one of the houses a much smaller model of a house, that I had ignored before. Imagine my surprise when I discover that I have a key for the lock on it. That guy I found decapitated in Capitol Post, he left a note telling me to search the house, and it was _this_ house. He left a key for the lock on the model. The key also fits the front door.

The model didn't even have anything of interest inside it. Just some preserved food, Buffout and pre-war money. I had believed Minefield to have been uninhabited since the war, aside from Arkansas, but apparently not. Whoever he was, I think that guy lived here. I wonder what happened to him that he got himself decapitated? Come to that, I wonder what the deal with the model house was?

I guess I'll never really know. And that irritates me.

Final stop for the night was Canterbury Commons. They were pleased to see me again, and I even met Crazy Wolfgang once more, who I was finally able to tell all about the stash in Wheaton I left for him too. Paid me right on the spot, and then ran to go get it. Guess I'm just that trustworthy.

And now I'm just settling down for bed in the Mechanist's forge, while Charon's gone to look around the place a bit and fix up his equipment. It's been a long day for all of us, and we're just looking for rest now.

I've looked back on my old journals, and realised that my worst fears came true. After the first day I spent in the outside world, my entries did indeed all become giant size, with only a few exceptions. I didn't even notice.

**Day 41: The Strangeness in the North.**

Started the day with a Talon squad waiting outside the door for me, in a major case of deja-vu. Even considering the power armour though, the idiots still didn't think to bring more than three men along. I didn't care though. It just meant more stuff to sell to the merchants in town and more ammunition for me and Charon.

We went west first, where we found the headquarters of the Regulators, just as promised. They claim to have agents all over the wasteland, just that I probably haven't noticed them. It sounds like bullshit, but then again, I've noticed that Lucas Simms has very similar clothes to these guys...

They gave me my own Regulator outfit, and told me that I can now work freelance for them. I just have to go out and kill bad people, and bring back their fingers as proof I did it. Then they'll pay me for it.

I don't really need extra money, but I feel it goes without saying that this is a major boon for me. These people are the closest thing to law enforcement the wasteland has, and now I'm one of them. Getting away with murder just became five times easier.

See someone I don't like?

BOOM.

"It's okay, ma'am. He was a bad guy. Regulator business, people. Go back to your drinks while I cut off this guy's finger..."

Not to mention if they ever do get wind that I did something bad, since I'm one of them, they'll be more likely to believe my story, rather than sending squads to hunt me down. Awesome.

We proceeded north from there, where we then came across the fabled Temple of the Union that I heard about, a refugee hold for escaped slaves. Their leader, Hannibal Hamlin, wants to set up a new base in the Lincoln Memorial in the D.C. ruins. I told him that I had recently cleared it of slavers, and he was very happy about that.

Also of note is that these people for some reason have the head that belongs on the statue of Lincoln. They want to fix it back on, but they need a reference for that, so they want me to go find a picture of the memorial in one piece for them. I can probably find that in the history museum where Underworld is based.

They already left to head for the memorial, so I'm going to find them there at a later date when I get that poster for them.

Mapped both the Regulator HQ and TotU, and continued north.

Side note: Three Dog finally caught wind of my saving Bryan Wilks, Grayditch and Reilly's Rangers, because he's started adding reports of those heroics to his news broadcasts. Glad to see some recognition. I should have a cult formed around me.

Though, the situation with Tenpenny Tower doesn't sound like it's gotten any better.

Well, we still had Vault 92 and Dave to find up north, so we pressed on. On the way, we came across an old diner full of raiders, and a relay tower. I marked both on the map, as Grisly Diner and Relay tower KX-B8-11 respectively.

KX broadcasted another distress signal once we got the power on there, which depressingly led into a drainage chamber with two skeletons. However, the guy on the signal, Bob, said he and his family were in there with their sick child, and I found only two skeletons, adult sized. No child skeleton. It gives me some hope that the kid got away. Maybe "family" included a grandfather or auntie who got the kid to safety. At least I hope so.

The diner meanwhile contained something just as interesting, and depressing. It's another pre-war audio tape. Remember that one I found in Hallowed Moors from that woman Tina, talking about how her family were planning to hide out in a bunker her brother stole the pass code to? In the diner, I found a tape by her sister Candace. And it was a recording of her witnessing the bombs falling and talking about the mushroom clouds.

Jesus.

While in the area, I also saved a group of wastelanders fleeing from an injured deathclaw. In thanks, they gave me a map to a place where they were supposedly going to go looking for treasure. It was in some caverns just north of D.C., right by Friendship Heights.

Damn, I am never going to get all this done...

Went north again. This time we found a ruined farm where some raiders and rogue robots were fighting it out. Killed everyone. Looted the place. Mapped it. Went east. Found a power station. Looted the place. Mapped it. Went north again.

And that's when I finally arrived at the Republic of Dave, which is Crazytown if ever I saw it. I can't even be bothered to go into that right now though, because that's a whole other entry by itself.

They had no space there to stay the night, so we're going to stay at that power station instead for the time being, but I was able to convince some woman to buy some of the books I'd found off me. One _Junktown_, one _Internal Medicine_, two _Guns and Bullets_, one _Pugilism_, and one _Grognak _issue, plus another pre-war book I had no interest in. War propaganda I think.

That's all I was able to get done for today. I'll have to speak with Dave later on tomorrow, because it's getting late already. By the time I reached the Republic, all I had the energy to do was sell my shit, steal another bobblehead I found in their quote unquote "museum", and ask about beds.

Whatever. I marked the Republic on my map, and I'll be back tomorrow to finish everything off.

Oh, and I should also note that I've also picked up eight Nuka-Cola Quantums throughout the day, most of which came from a crashed truck I found on a highway. I could make so many Nuka grenades with these it's unreal, especially with the improved schematics.

I only wish I had some targets strong enough to warrant their use. I pulled one out for that deathclaw earlier, and I tossed one or two about when dealing with large clusters of Talons or super mutants, but there's no enemies I encounter on a regular basis who really _need _grenades. It saddens me.

There's also a signal my Pipboy started picking up just now as I've been writing. Sounds like gibberish to me, though I am curious about where it's coming from.

I've left my stuff with Charon and Dogmeat and told them to stay where they are and wait for me. I need to see what this is real quick. I can always come back if I need backup.

**Day 42: Aliens Exist.**

Hey, diary. Quick update for you. The signal came from a crashed alien spacecraft, and I was abducted and beamed onto their mothership. I'm now in a cell with another wastelander captive. She says they're going to experiment on us. We may very well die here, and the situation looks pretty bleak.

Sad to say, this may be my last entry.

For a while, anyway. I'm going to be too busy to update my journal for the foreseeable future. I have an _entire ship full of aliens _to kill. That's going to take a _long _time. So, forgive me if my next few entries are briefer than usual. I have unholy vengeance to enact on a vessel full of squishy little green midgets.

HERE COMES THE WANDERER!


	7. Week Seven

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Seven**

**Day 43: Puny Earthlings.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Man 1: [Heavy breathing.]** This thing on? Testing testing one two three. Hey, it is. That's super.

Wait, what the...? Man 1? Fucking...I thought I already set my name on this transcription? What the fucking...At least it puts a line break when I tell it to. I should be thankful for small mercies I suppose.

Anyway, this is the Lone Fucking Wanderer if the transcription isn't making that clear. And hey, look, it even capitalised my name, "fucking" and all. And it put "fucking" in quotes just now! And again! And exclamation marks! Oh boy, I've changed my mind. I love this thing now.

**Woman 1:** Hey, what are you doing?

**Lone Fucking Wanderer: **Recording an entry for my log, Somah. Ever since the day I left the vault, I write an entry in my journal every day to put down my thoughts, record what I've found and sold, make notes for future plans, that sort of thing. Helps keep me organised. But I haven't got time for that shit right now, so I figured I'd put everything on this holotape instead and stick on the automatic transcription. Then I have an audio and written version, and it takes me less time to do...Wait...Oh my fucking god! I'm being transcribed as "Lone Fucking Wanderer"! **[Laughing] **Oh Jesus, that's hysterical! I'm even more impressed now. This thing can actually pick up my name from context and put that as my tag! It's not my real name, but I call myself Lone Fucking Wanderer, and suddenly it transcribes my voice as Lone Fucking Wanderer. That's just magical.

**Somah: **...Great.

**Lone Fucking Wanderer: **It did it for you, too! It even put in an ellipses indicating your awkward pause! This is the BEST automatic transcription software I have ever seen. This must be some pre-war kind of shit right here...

**Somah: **Well, why not tell it your real name so you can be transcribed properly?

**Lone Fucking Wanderer: **Oh HELL no. Lone Fucking Wanderer all the way, baby. I don't want to put my real name on shit when I can be considered a living legend even by transcription software. Why do you think I haven't given it to you yet?

**Somah: **I assumed Lone Wanderer was your actual name.

**Lone Wanderer: **...Really?

**Somah: **Really.

**Lone Wanderer: **_How_?

**Somah: **People can choose their own names in a world where there exists no name registry anywhere. People call themselves or their children all kinds of strange shit. Ghouls do it all the time. Like that guy you were telling me about. Charon. Think that's his real name? Think he was born with the name Charon?

**Lone Wanderer: **No, but still. Lone Wanderer as my actual name? That'd be pretty...OH FUCK YOU.

**Somah: **What?

**Lone Wanderer: **It dropped the "fucking" from my name because you said it without it! Oh you absolute bitch!

**Somah: **Whatever. Fuck you too.

**Lone Wanderer: **I'll get you back for this!

**Somah: **I'm not scared of you.

**Lone Wanderer: **I have power armour and an alien energy rifle.

**Somah: [Snorting derisively.] **Whatever you say, crazy bastard.

**Lone Wanderer: **I'm going to rape you later.

**Somah: **Looking forward to it. **[Footsteps.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **...I'll get her...

Anyway. So. Time to log everything of importance.

We are currently situated in the engineering core of the ship. By "we", I mean myself, Somah, Sally, and a few other people we found around the place. It's not just been the two of us around here. As we've found frozen cryo pods, or holding cells like the ones we were in, we've let out whoever we found trapped.

In the area we were initially located, we found a cell with a little girl in it, named Sally. She's been helping us get around the place and reaching all the areas we couldn't otherwise. She's damn good at it too. There was another cell with a Rivet City security guard in it took. The man had lost his mind though. I had to put him down. Shame. Someone with combat training could have been real useful.

Three other companions joined us for the journey though. Paulson, who's a cowboy abducted during the time of the American old west, before they even had _cars_, let alone energy weapons and nuclear power; Elliot, who's a medic and a soldier from before the apocalypse, who served in Anchorage; and some guy who I think is a samurai from feudal Japan.

Yeah, it's pretty fucking weird. However, it is also awesome. I get to learn about ancient history from people who experienced it. The samurai doesn't speak my language, so I can't do anything to help him other than indicate through body language that I wish him no harm, which he seems to understand. Paulson and Elliot on the other hand have been interesting to talk to.

Paulson for one was astonished by me and Elliot's recounting of American history since his time, and he in turn told us all about what the old west was like. Elliot was also grimly fascinated by my stories of the wasteland that now exists where the world he once knew used to be. It upset him greatly to know his efforts in the war were all in vain. I could relate. I served too, in a sense, and I told him as such. It's not the same as actually living the real thing, but all the same, I think we felt some kinship through that.

Anyway. We beat the shit out of a bunch of aliens, and I got back all the stuff I was missing almost right out of the holding cells. 'Course, I left my backpack with Charon, so that wasn't much. Just my power armour, and my weapons, since I have holsters and harnesses for all my weapons on the armour's exterior. So I still have all my rifles, the shotgun, the SMG, the revolver, the gauntlet, and Stabhappy. What I don't have is chems, medical supplies, stealth boys, food or water, extra ammunition, spare clothing, etcetera. I've been getting by without it, but it's been harder than it would have been had I access to all my equipment.

The aliens have been helpful though. As we kill them, we've been able to take their weapons from them, and they've got some good shit. So far, the aliens have come at us with three primary weapons. The first is some kind of baton that shocks you with an electric current. The other two are energy weapons, though they don't use microfusion cells or anything of the sort for obvious reasons. I can't quite tell what they shoot, actually. It's not plasma, but I don't think it's a laser either.

They come in the form of rifles and pistols. The rifle version I call the disintegrator. The pistol I call the atomizer.

The aliens also naturally have their own robots. Almost uniquely among robots though, these ones I can pull the weapons off of, and they will still function. Instead of being built into the robot, these drone cannons are handheld, and the robots just have appendages for operating them. They shoot energy projectiles that bounce off the walls like grenades. It was unwieldy at first, but it quickly became my best friend in here.

Rooting around the place has also turned up some interesting finds. The aliens like collecting things from Earth, so every once in a while we'll find conventional weapons and ammunition for them, or the usual pre-war food packed with preservatives to last two hundred years. I've got to say though, I've really gained a taste for some of the alien food I've found. Worm and squid-like creatures on metal trays. It was strange to begin with, but I've gained a taste for them. Somah still looks at me weird whenever I have some though.

**Somah: [Distantly] **That's because you're a freak!

**Lone Wanderer: **And you're a skank! ...Now, where was I? Oh yes. That's right.

We've also found a bunch of gels and chemicals around the place. One is made for ingesting, but it is of questionable safeness to our biology. I didn't want to try it myself, but Elliot found a way to adapt it to be not quite as bad. It can still have unpredictable effects, but they're thankfully temporary, and the gel also heals us, which is good when I have so few stimpaks on me. The other chemical we've found in abundance is a kind of epoxy made for weapon maintenance. It works on alien weapons, and conventional ones too, so it's a godsend. I've began collecting it wherever I can. **[Footsteps.]**

Other gadgets picked up include these neat little grenades and mines that Elliot whipped up with the cryogenic technology we came across while exploring earlier. Unlike my guns, I don't keep straps or pouches on me to carry explosives. I keep those in the backpack. So I've been lacking my Nuka grenades. Which is a shame, because I was musing before I came here that I needed something to use them on, and these aliens are perfect for that.

And-

**Man 2: **Why do you keep saying

?

**Lone Wanderer: **Oh, hey Paulson. I'm saying it because that's the vocal command to put in a line break in the auto-transcription, otherwise it just shows up as a wall of text.

**Paulson: **...Huh? Auto-what now?

**Lone Wanderer: **This thing writes down what I say as I say it. If I don't keep saying

though, then it all appears as one giant block of words. Every time I say it, it puts in a line break. That way it's separated into readable chunks.

**Paulson: **Huh. This more scavenged alien junk, or another future thing?

**Lone Wanderer: **It's human technology, so yes. It wouldn't be in English if it were alien.

**Paulson: **...Alright, then. **[Footsteps.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **Anyway. We've got a plan to take down the aliens, one way or another. It involves destroying these three generators around the ship to take out the oxygen in one area, which I will then travel through in a spacesuit we took from a dead astronaut we found in stasis. Once I'm through the place, I have to activate a teleporter to help everyone else follow me.

So far, we've hit two. Me and Elliot raided the one in the cryo lab. **[Footsteps.] **While there, he came across his old squadmates. Three already dead and being experimented on by aliens and two in stasis, who we revived so that they** [Lighter being lit.] **could spend their final moments helping us kill some damn aliens. What a way to go out. **[Cigarette puffing.]**

**Somah: **Damn right.

**Lone Wanderer: **There were other people frozen in there. Unfortunately, they were raiders, ghouls and super mutants, all needing to be put down. Don't understand why the raiders attacked us though. Must have lost their minds from being frozen. I know I wouldn't attack the first other human I saw on sight if I were in their position. I'd even be willing to work with a raider if it was against aliens. Yeah, I'd probably shoot them in the head afterwards, but-

**Somah: **Wait, what? Why would you shoot them in the head if they helped you?

**Lone Wanderer: **Because they're raiders. I kill raiders.

**Somah: **If they attack you, you mean?

**Lone Wanderer: **No, I mean regardless. Raiders need to be exterminated. I don't care if they're hostile to me or not. If I see a raider, I will shoot them on sight. Just like feral ghouls, super mutants, malfunctioning robots, mutant animals, Talon mercenaries, Brotherhood Outcasts and slavers.

**Somah: **S-slavers?

**Lone Wanderer: **Yes. Slavers. You know what slavers are, right?

**Somah: **Yeah! Of course I do! I mean...You'd really kill a slaver for being a slaver, even if they helped you out?

**Lone Wanderer: **Yes.

**Somah: **Even if they saved your life?

**Lone Wanderer: **Without a second thought.

**Somah: **...Uh, good. Good for you. Keep...bringing that good fight.

**Lone Wanderer: **I will. **[Footsteps.] **Such a nice girl. And she and I went through the robot assembly place to get the second generator. I also picked up in there a beautiful little control device that allows me to get drones in storage to reactivate and defend me from the aliens, and also to shut down all the drones in an area if there are no aliens there for them to defend. Immensely useful.

Additionally, I've explored a few other rooms linked to the engineering core. The engine room, the cargo hold, and the maintenance level and waste disposal, which was an adventure in itself, but that's another story.

Down there, we came across a few interesting items. A mini nuke and several pieces of conventional Earth weaponry for one, up to and including missile launchers and miniguns, some of which my companions have taken.

Then there was the special shock baton that some alien had been performing modifications on. It no longer actually shocked, but it had some other enhancements to give it more stopping power, so I took it. I take all alien weapons I come across, because they're going to be valuable as shit back in the wasteland, but this one I want to make particular note of.

Another interesting find was a special experimental plasma pistol, called the MPLX Novasurge. It was locked in a safe that the aliens had found, remotely connected to a terminal. Entries on the terminal indicate that they were both meant to be buried in the desert. The pistol was apparently supposed to be evidence for exposing some kind of conspiracy that this group thought existed. Quaere Verum was their name. Latin for "seek the truth". They stole this from a secure base, but were betrayed. The rest of the group was eradicated, and the last survivor did the burying. Then it was somehow taken by aliens. I don't know what this conspiracy is, but it all seems rather irrelevant given what happened to the world a few short years after.

I also happened across a shipment meant for Anchorage, Alaska addressed to General Chase. I met him in the simulation. It contained a general's overcoat as well, just like he wore. This is apparently what the top guys in the pre-war military used. I gave it to Somah to look after for me.

And I found that samurai's missing sword. He was pleased to have it back, but then he disappeared on me, off to who knows where.

Right now, we're slowly making a defendable base in the engineering core. While me and Elliot, and later me and Somah were out blowing up generators, the others stuck around to help entrench us here. It's become a home base of sorts. Especially useful, since it seems to act as a hub to a lot of the rest of Mothership Zeta, as I have dubbed it.

This also means alien attacks, but like I said, we've been fortifying it. Good thing too, because I need a place to lie down and sleep. I was abducted...Wednesday. Late Wednesday night, just after we had set up in the power station after being turned away from the Republic of Dave. My last entry was very early morning Thursday according to my Pipboy. Now it's 2AM on Friday. I need to get to bed. Fortunately, the three men we released from cryo sleep are as wide awake as ever, so I'll be safe to take a rest for a while. And when they next need to sleep, I'll be there to defend them. We can sleep in shifts.

I've...I've also been finding audio logs around the ship, from captives of the aliens. It's...horrifying stuff, honestly. I've been trying not to think about them, but I thought I should make mention of them before I sign off for the night. I've downloaded the lot, that they might not be forgotten.

Anyway, that's it for now. I'll get back to you, diary. Hopefully, by my next entry this nightmare will be over.

**Day 43 Part 2: Life Ain't Fair.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: **I do so try to be optimistic, but how can I be when the world is this fucked up?

The aliens have been taking humans and mutating them into...something. Abominations are the only word for them. They're very much like the aliens themselves, except even they hate aliens. I've now had to contend with several of those in addition to alien menaces. It has not been fun.

In terms of good news though, me and Paulson went through the hangar and destroyed the final generator. Found the crashed alien ship that was beamed up with me too. So at least now I know where it went. I then got the space suit on and walked over the exterior of the ship to reach the observation deck, and as promised I let my companions up through the teleporter. The aliens fired the ship's death ray to try and scare us, but it didn't work. They're still gonna die.

We made our way through the ship despite their best attempts. Weapons lab turned out some good finds. Modified versions of the weapons I've already come across, mostly. A fully automatic version of the disintegrator rifles for one, a more high powered atomizer pistol for another, and my favourite one of all, a drone cannon whose energy blasts don't bounce off the walls like I'm launching grenades. I practiced with them a bit on a shooting range I found, killing raiders and robots and radscorpions and whatever else came out. I think I'm getting good with these.

And that fedora motherfucker is here too. The one from the Jefferson memorial. Popped out of nowhere and killed an alien right before my eyes. Then he ran down a dead end corridor and vanished. Am I seeing ghosts? I don't know. I really hope it's just Paulson fucking with me. If this guy whoever he is followed me onto Zeta, and didn't try to rescue me from my cell earlier, I'd be pretty pissed.

Currently, I'm fighting my way through biological research to the death ray controls, so I can disable them. These aliens are in for quite a shock.

**Day 43 Part 3: Death Ray Update.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: **ALRIGHT! Death ray fucking destroyed. Or powered down. Or whatever the fuck. Point is these little green shitheads got nothing now. We're storming the bridge. AFTER, I fight my way through the living quarters.

**Day 43 Part 4: [ENTER NAME].**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: **Gentlemen, the ship is ours. It took a nasty final battle on the bridge against the alien captain and his security squad, and things got pretty hairy after a second alien mothership just as huge as Zeta that wasn't nearly as fucked up inside as this one is came out of nowhere with intent to destroy us, but we saw it through. And I hope these aliens have other ships in space, or that their home planet is still inhabited, because otherwise their race is officially EXTINCT. NATURAL FUCKING SELECTION, BABY! SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST, AND THE HUMAN RACE STANDS TRIUMPHANT!

**Paulson: **...You're a strange one, boy. Have I ever told you that?

**Lone Wanderer: **Yep, and you can tell me again, because honestly, I just wiped out an alien race and captured my very own spaceship, so I'm in way too good of a mood for anything you say to bother me.

**Day 43 Part 5: [ENTER NAME].**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: **I don't want to set the woooooorld...onnnnn...fire! I...just want to staaaaart...a flame in your heaaaaaaaaart! GOD I LOVE THIS SONG! **[Swallowing.] **Ahhh...And I love whiskey...And I love...love... **[Belching.] **Planet Earth! Which is, with all due respect to Mars and Neptune, the most wonderful planet of them all! God, if this planet were a person, I would crush its spine with a hug right now. But it's not. Fuuuuuuuuck. Guess I'll just have to break Charon's spine when I see him instead. He better not have left that power station. If he has then I'll...I'll hunt him down and...fucking...stab him in the eye socket...**[Long pause.]** I hope I can find my way back to the power station in the dark...

**Day 44: [ENTER NAME].**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**[Clanging.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **GUESS WHO'S BACK, YOU WALKING MAGGOT FARM?!

**Man 3: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Gah! Boss! Where did you come from?!

**Lone Wanderer: **FROM THE STARS THEMSELVES! I WAS ABDUCTED BY ALIENS! WHO I THEN KILLED! YES! I KILLED AN ENTIRE ALIEN MOTHERSHIP BY MYSELF! WITH SOME HELP FROM A COWBOY, A SAMURAI, A LITTLE GIRL, A MEDIC OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY, AND A WASTELANDER! AND TOGETHER, WE COMMITTED GLORIOUS GENOCIDE! SHIP TO SHIP COMBAT! KABOOM! AND NOW I HAVE A SPACESHIP!

**Man 3: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **...Are you feeling alright?

**Lone Wanderer: **NEVER BETTER, CHARON! NEVER BETTER! NOW GET ME MY BACKPACK! WE'RE GOING INTO SPACE! TO LOOT! WE'RE GOING TO MY PERSONAL SPACESHIP TO SCAVENGE ALIEN TECHNOLOGY TOGETHER!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Now?

**Lone Wanderer: **YES! NOW!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **It's four in the morning. Is now really the best time?

**Lone Wanderer: **BUT...SPACESHIP, CHARON!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **You're off your rocker, boss.

**Lone Wanderer: **SPACESHIP...IN SPACE...! ALIEN GENOCIDE!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Let's get you to bed. You're not well.

**Lone Wanderer: **IT WAS SO GOOD! I KILLED SO MANY ALIENS! I WANT TO SHOW YOU IT!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **There, there. Calm down. I'll get the chems... **[Dog whines in background.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **CALL ME ARES! FOR I AM A GOD OF WAR!

**Day 44 Part 2: Xenotech.**

It's almost hard to believe that the last two days _actually happened_, but I have the audio logs to prove it. And looking back on them, I see the inherent problem with using audio logs. They're likely to be interrupted, they make my entries even _longer _somehow, being that I can talk for way longer than I can type, and sometimes I'll capture moments on tape that I'm not proud of.

I mean, I've gotten drunk and done embarrassing shit a few times since coming out into the wastes, but I've always been able to pretend those times didn't happen before. Now I've got audio logs of me doing it.

Anyway, Charon shut up with calling me crazy. I took him up to the ship. Where the alien craft used to be, there's now a beacon that allows me to teleport up to the ship anytime I want. And only me as well, so no risk of tosspots stumbling across my treasure trove of technology belonging to a long dead alien race, though I've set it up so that Charon and Dogmeat can come aboard now too. And put the location on the map for Reilly too.

I introduced Charon to Sally, Elliot and the samurai. They all decided to stay on board the ship. I think they're afraid of what they'll find on Earth, and honestly, I can't blame them. The samurai will have the culture shock of his life if we dump him in post apocalyptic America. I mean, he comes from a time before there were even guns! At least Paulson knows what _America _is.

Really, compared to those two, Elliot would probably be the best off down there. Even though everything would be ruined, he probably at least knows enough about the old world to know what everything is, and he has the training to fight off enemies...

Like I said though, I don't blame them. He's decided to stay here and scavenge technology from around the ship. Sally is doing the same. The samurai? I think he's just decided to live here and deal with it.

Paulson and Somah left though. Went down to the planet's surface to wander the wastes. Somah took some alien technology with her. A modest amount, enough to get her a good few caps for her ordeal. Makes me sad that I won't have a monopoly over this stuff after all, but whatever. And Paulson? I don't know what his plans are.

A cowboy from the old west wandering the wastes...I wonder what will become of him?

Well, I guess it doesn't matter for now. We came here to pick up everything I scavenged during my adventure on Zeta. And now that we've done that, Charon can carry it. Because I have to carry everything else.

Oh, and should also note I found another new alien weapon type. It appears to be a pistol, of a different type than the atomizer. I found two. One in pristine condition, which I took from the corpse of the alien captain who commanded Zeta, and another, rustier one which was near the beacon where the crashed ship used to be. I think it was the property of the pilot. For some reason, the rusty one found in the wasteland is actually more powerful than the disintegrator rifles. But the captain's version is not. I must say, it greatly confuses me.

I've since named these variants the blasters. I think I'll be keeping both of them.

But whatever. Tonight, we sleep in the comfortable living quarters of a fully heated spaceship. Tomorrow, we venture back onto post-apocalyptic Earth, to continue the mundane, non-alien-related duties of a wasteland hero.

Ah, life. I miss when you had some semblance of normalcy.

**Day 45: To Lead a Revolution.**

I think something's different about me now. I can't tell what. I didn't notice it on board Zeta with how everything else was going on, and the non-standard nature of the combat situation, but...Now I'm back on Earth, and fighting familiar enemies again, I can compare. I definitely feel a lot heavier than before. Heavy as in "something is weighing me down", not as in "I'm getting fat".

I think that operation the aliens performed did something weird to me. Can't be certain right now. Will need to look into it later.

Anyway, so today, we did our business in the Republic of Dave. Now, last I checked, I was going to launch into a long rant about how it was completely insane, and the people who lived there must have been wackos, because they believe that their little compound is a sovereign nation, and blah, blah, blah. Whatever. I spent last Friday beating the shit out of aliens. This place doesn't even phase me anymore.

So I'll be quick in summing up its fate:

● Dave surrendered his key willingly, so I now have all of them. If Crowley doesn't have a key himself, I might be able to check out Constantine to see what he wanted so bad.

● There was an election going on in the Republic when I arrived, which Dave is always the only candidate for. I rigged it so that he would lose, and one of his wives took over his job. He ran off into the wastes. Shit was priceless.

● She gave me a hunting rifle called Ol' Painless, and it's pretty nice compared to the standard model, so I fixed it up with parts from my usual hunting rifle and have now added it to my armament.

● There was a bottle of Quantum in the settlement before. I stole it.

Once that was done, me, Charon and Dogmeat decided to go west and find that Constantine place, and the vault we came up here searching for.

Our arrival in the town they call Old Olney was heralded by the sound of screaming deathclaws. Screaming because I blew their legs off with grenades before I sniped them in the head with the disintegrator rifle.

I am now out of Nuka grenades. Will need to stock up supplies to get some more. Also out of cryo grenades and mines as well, but they weren't as effective as I was hoping anyway. Still got plenty of plasmas, so we're all good on that front.

We cleared the town of pests, and did our standard search. Nothing much of note in the town, except a note left by some dead guy who was delivering a shipment of Quantum to Olney, reporting that he crashed on the highway. Explains that truck full of Quantum I found, I guess. But other than that, nothing. So we went west towards the vault entrance.

Oh wait, yes. We found Dave dead in Olney. But that's not important.

Vault 92 turned out to be just as fucked as all the others I've been to. The situation with this one is that all residents were exposed to in their sleep to white noise through the loudspeakers. The white noise was meant to allow them to implant subliminal suggestions so that they could get the residents to do whatever they wanted. A kind of mind control, if you will.

The head scientist, Professor Malleus, was deceived though. He was all for the mind control experiments, but he thought they were largely harmless, and was only practicing on a few musicians in the sound studio. Then it turned out that the Overseer was implanting kill commands through the white noise. And not just on them. On the entire vault.

I think at that point Malleus's conscience got the better of him, and he tried to put a stop to it. The Overseer's terminal simply says that he was "removed".

Sometimes, I wish people like Vault 92's Overseer survived. When I read that, I wanted no more than to look under the desk and find a starving and crippled ghoul in a vault Overseer's jumpsuit, drag him out, and beat him repeatedly before feeding him to the mirelurks that had since made their home here.

Sadly, no such thing could happen. The man is long dead, and I can't punish the dead.

Regardless, I escaped the vault just fine, I managed to clear it of all the mirelurks and bloatflies too, and I even got Agatha's violin for her. Just as a special treat, I also found a sheet music book for her, so she'll have more songs to learn and play. I hope she likes it. She's such a nice woman.

From there it was west again towards Constantine. We didn't make it all the way though. We stopped when we came across a selection of shacks occupied by super mutants and holding a hostage. We killed them all and freed the hostage, who was very thankful, and then decided to stop there for the night.

Also, before I forget, we also raided a waste disposal site earlier this morning between the Republic and the beacon where we teleported down from Zeta. I've since marked Old Olney, Vault 92, Greener Pastures Disposal Site and the Clifftop Shacks on the map. Can't forget that.

All in all, a day of scavenging vaults, abandoned pre-war towns, disposal sites and super mutant villages has turned up:

● x2 Quantums.

● x4 stealth boys.

● x1 _Big Book of Science_.

● x2 _D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine_.

● x1 _Guns and Bullets_.

● x1 _Duck and Cover!_

● x1 _Nikola Tesla and You_.

● x1 _Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor_.

● x1 _Pugilism Illustrated_.

● x1 _Grognak the Barbarian _(unread issue).

● x6 other miscellaneous pre-war books.

I think Vault 101 must have had a carefully pre-picked selection of only quality books, because from what I've been finding, old world people read mostly trash aside from my favourite comic series and precisely thirteen other books.

In the realm of actually interesting things though, the disposal site turned up a bobblehead for my collection, dedicated to agility, and in these shacks I found a nail board, which has "Board of Education" inscribed on the handle. That just made me laugh. I'm taking that along for the pun alone.

Though, it should be noted that we're starting to get weighed down here. Even me and Charon between us can't carry much more than this. We're going to have to head to Megaton or Big Town, and either store away or sell some of this shit. It's getting too much.

That's a concern for tomorrow though. For now, we sleep.

**Day 46: Ya Keep Comin' Back.**

Getting back to Megaton was easier than I thought it would be. Less wild animal attacks than usual. Rogue robots were all weaker models. Only one Talon company ambush, and these guys are getting more and more pathetic as I keep finding new shit to kill them with, this time goddamn alien weapons, and they just keep coming at me in the same armour and with the same standard armament.

It's good to be home again though, and Jesus Christ, I just realised I think of Megaton as my home now. That's how bad my standard of living has gotten. I consider this trash heap a safe haven to return to.

Also I have no spare beds in my house, so Charon has to sleep on the metal bench downstairs. He's never happy when that happens. I jokingly suggested that we could share a bed, but he didn't seem to find it very amusing.

What the fuck is even with him? Since we've met I've revealed that I have regeneration capabilities, told him that I served in Anchorage, Alaska and yet I'm not a ghoul, revealed that I'm hunting down an android, showed him a goddamn alien spaceship, and he STILL hasn't asked anything about my past or who I am. This prick is so jaded, I'm not entirely unconvinced that he's an android himself.

We had a chance to offload all the extra crap though. General Chase's overcoat and the space suit from Zeta found a home in the armour locker, while the weapons locker saw the new additions of the Board of Education, the modified variants of the shock baton, drone cannon, atomizer and disintegrator, both the alien blasters, and all the ammunition that powers the alien weapons.

Side note: Remember a while back I found some ammunition of a type I was unsure of while raiding Fort Independence? Turns out it was for one of the alien blasters. So the Outcasts have scavenged alien technology too. Nothing quite to the degree of what I've found, but hey, give them credit. They actually found something.

All the rest of the alien weapons by the way, I left on board Zeta. I took the unique variants so I could store them here as trophies of my conquest, but the standard weapons I had so many of that I left them behind in the care of Elliot and Sally. When I find someone who I think will pay good money for them, I'll take them to the ship and they can buy however many they want then and there.

What I'm really hoping for is that Elliot can find me a way to produce new alien weapons and ammunition using the materials on the ship, or hell, even just Earth materials. If we could produce our own alien weapons, I'd be post-apocalyptic America's first east coast weapons baron. I could build my skull vault without having to kill all the people myself.

Anyway, I also added my two newest bobbleheads to the collection, the ones from the disposal site and the Republic, and they're looking right at home there too.

And Moira gladly purchased all of my books save the new Grognak comic which is in my library, and my excess stealth boys too. I've decided to start selling those, since I'm going to be carrying around the Chinese stealth armour everywhere, and that turns me invisible anyway.

And I gathered the necessary supplies and started work on constructing several dozen Nuka grenades, since I'm now fresh out of plasmas too. And also, a railway rifle, using the parts I scavenged from the school a while back. The railway rifle doesn't seem particularly strong, but I like it. Because I'm a sucker for novelty weapons. Could have been in better condition though. Will need to make another some time.

Carrying all these rifles on the exterior of my armour is getting difficult though. Some keep falling off. I can't keep up carrying so many. Even in spite of everything I dropped off, I'm still hauling around five rifles with the railway one marking the sixth, two pistols, a shotgun, an SMG, a knife and a gauntlet with a deathclaw's hand strapped to it.

I've decided that from now on, I'll keep the ammunition, the melee weapons, one energy rifle, one standard rifle, and one sidearm on me, and Charon will carry the rest of my stuff in a backpack of his own that I got for him. And he'll hand me whatever I need when I want to switch.

A good system, no?

I was reminded to make a railway rifle because I came across some more schematics for them earlier in the day. While walking south to Megaton, we came across a power station, which I mapped as "MDPL-13 power station". Full of ghouls, and that Talon ambush I was talking about occurred as we left, but worth the excursion. I also found a power fist in there. Neat, but I got my deathclaw gauntlet, so into the locker it goes.

That's today all done though. Tomorrow, we go back to the clifftop shacks, and continue heading west from there until we find Constantine. I want to know what Crowley is up to.

**Day 47: There and Back Again.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: [Multiple footsteps.]** Hey diary. Don't think I'll have much time to update you today, because we're constantly walking, and by the time I find a bed, I'm just gonna fall on it and remain there for twelve hours or so. So here's another voice recording in place of a written entry.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **You keep a diary?

**Lone Wanderer: **'Course I fucking do. How else do I confirm to myself that this waking nightmare is real? **[Awkward silence.]** "Awkward silence". I love that. This transcription software is really quite genius.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **...Alright then, boss.

**Lone Wanderer: **Come on, keep walking. **[Multiple footsteps.]** Now, as I was saying. We dropped off the violin with Agatha, who was overjoyed, to say the least. She showed me how to tune into her radio station as thanks, so now in the unlikely event I get tired of Ink Spots or Enclave Radio, I can switch over to hear some violin pieces.

She-

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **Why did you just say

?

**Lone Wanderer: **Oh fuck off, Charon.

She was also happy about the sheet music I found. Good call, I think. She gave me a scoped revolver in return. A special one, named Blackhawk. It wasn't in top condition, but I fixed it up with my old revolver's parts. And it does have more power behind it than a standard point forty four, so I've taken to using it as my current sidearm instead of the modified plasma pistol from Zeta, which Charon is carrying.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **Along with everything else.

**Lone Wanderer: **I'm carrying my share too. Quit your bellyaching. You're supposed to be my bodyguard, and I'm still the one who does most of the killing.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **Because you keep firing at everything I do with stronger guns! It's like you're jealous when I kill something instead of you, so you keep racing me to try and get to it first! What am I supposed to do?

**Lone Wanderer: **I'll tell you what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to provide covering fire when I'm overwhelmed, kill the animals and robots that I can't be asked to deal with myself while I take care of the super mutants, raiders and ferals, and when some big ugly green motherfucker whips out a minigun, you aim for the minigun and try to either damage it or knock it out of his hands, because if you aim for his head, the most you can hope for with a shotgun at long range is to blind him, and then he's just going to be spraying minigun fire everywhere, which is no help. THAT is what you do.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **That'd still leave you doing most of the killing.

**Lone Wanderer: **That's fine. I like killing.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **You don't say?

**Lone Wanderer: **You watch your mouth. I'm not in the mood right now. My veins are full of radscorpion poison and I'm fucking starving.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **You and me both.

**Dog 1: [Panting.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **Don't worry, Dogmeat. We'll find something soon.

**Dogmeat: [Whining.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **Anyway, we didn't go straight towards the clifftop shacks either. Once we reached the power station, we continued in a northwest direction. We passed through the ruins of what my pre-war version of the map identifies as Reclining Groves Resort Homes, which I added to my normal map as such, and did some looting there. Found three books of note. _Junktown Jerky Vendor_, _Special Ops Training Manual_, and _Flamethrower Recipes_.

Also came across an Outcast patrol there, being stalked by deathclaws. Guys were terrified. Even better though, I was able to kill the deathclaws before they too badly damaged the Outcasts' armour. So then afterwards, I was able to butcher the Outcasts with some simple headshots with the Gauss rifle-

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **Murdering bastard.

**Lone Wanderer: -**And recover their power armour. Three sets of it, which with some quick adjustments I was able to break down into a single suit and helmet in like-new condition. And then Charon here surprised everyone by revealing that he had the necessary training to wield power armour too.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **Hmm.

**Lone Wanderer: **Hasn't taken off his helmet since I gave it to him either.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **You shouldn't have taken off yours. We're still in the open.

**Lone Wanderer: **Oh, what's the worst that could- **[Shotgun fire.][Splattering.]** ...Kay. Point taken. Is that edible?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **Radscorpion? Hell no.

**Lone Wanderer: **Worth a shot. Anyway, after the resort home, we came to the Montgomery County Reservoir. That was our next stop, wasn't it?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **Yep.

**Lone Wanderer: **Kay. So we stopped there, but there wasn't much of interest, so we just added it to the map and moved on. After that we came to, oh,

by the way. Shit. Did it mid-sentence. Try again.

That's better. We came to Broadcast Tower LP8. Not much of interest there either. It emitted a morse code signal when I hit a switch, which led us into a sewer chamber where there was a _Big Book of Science_, but that was it. I'm finding a lot of these places, sending out signals that lead into underground areas with random shit and dead people. It's beginning to annoy me.

We also found some raiders attacking some wasteland settlers. Nothing real important, but we saved them and killed the raiders. That was actually north east of the reservoir, but we just wanted to check it out. So from there, we went west again.

Now it's really dark, and right now, forgetting Constantine, we're just hoping to reach some kind of shelter soon. The pre-war map indicates there's a power station in the direction we're heading. Hopefully, there'll be some actual beds there. But I doubt it.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **You're the one who forces us into this misery.

**Lone Wanderer: **We have to reach Constantine though.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **Why?

**Lone Wanderer: **To find out what Crowley wants there!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **What business is it of ours what Crowley wants? You said he hired you to kill these three guys. Why didn't you just kill them for him and be done with it?

**Lone Wanderer: **Because I'm not some ignorant wasteland fuck who kills people just because he's told to. When I kill someone, it will be because they're trying to kill me, or because they severely pissed me off. I don't assassinate people without damn good reason. Bigotry against ghouls might count as a good reason if it's particularly extreme, but I never set out from Underworld with intent to kill the three on my list. I wanted to find out their side of the story, and discover why Crowley wanted them dead. I knew he was lying to me from the moment he started asking that job of me, and I wanted to confirm it. He wanted me to kill an innocent man, that Strayer kid, for whatever is inside Constantine. Dave too, asshole though he may have been. Now I have to know what it is. Because what's inside Constantine that Crowley believes is worth those three lives will determine whether he lives or dies.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **...Hmm.

**Lone Wanderer: **Yeah. "Hmm". That showed me. You keep up with those "hmm"s you jaded, stoic fuck.

**Day 48: Starving.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: [Multiple footsteps.]** MDPL-21 power station had no bed. What a surprise. It did have a Nikola Tesla book, but fuck if that helps at all.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Have we really got no more food left?

**Lone Wanderer: **What we had last night was it. Sorry.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, voice.] **I'm starved.

**Lone Wanderer: **I know, buddy. Just hang in there. Something edible will try to kill us sooner or later.

So, I mapped the power station, and we've continued west. I'm hoping against hope that we'll find some food when we reach-

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, voice.] **Hey, turn that off. I think I see some traders.

**Lone Wanderer: **Food? YES! We're saved!

**Day 48 Part 2: Not Starving.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: [Multiple footsteps.]** Mmmm. Delicious. I don't know what meat those three hunters were selling. Tasted like no wasteland animal I've ever tried. Shit was nice though. Charon didn't seem to like it quite as much. But he wouldn't do. Because he complains about everything. Like a bitch.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **I can hear you, you know.

**Lone Wanderer: **Like. A. Bitch.

**Charon: [Grumbling.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **Hey, we're there. This is it. SatCom Array NN dash zero three D.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **And what are we doing here?.

**Man 4: [Distantly.]** I'm gonna skin you alive!

**Lone Wanderer: **There's your answer. **[Shotgun cocking.][Plasma rifle priming.]** We ready?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **Ready.

**Lone Wanderer: **"'THEN YOU CALL ON THE NAME OF YOUR GOD, AND I WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE _LORD_! THE GOD WHO ANSWERS BY FIRE - HE IS GOD!'" **[Shotgun firing.][Plasma rifle firing.][Screaming.]** "THEN THE FIRE OF THE _LORD _FELL AND BURNED UP THE SACRIFICE," **[Plasma rifle firing.][Screaming.][Sloshing liquid.]** "THE WOOD, THE STONES FROM THE SOIL, AND ALSO LICKED UP THE WATER IN THE TRENCH!" **[Grenade pin being pulled.][Screaming.][Explosion.]**

**Man 5: [Distantly.]** You stupid bastard! That's the Lone Wanderer! **[Submachine gun firing.][Explosion.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **"WHEN THE PEOPLE SAW THIS," **[Submachine gun firing.]** "THEY FELL PROSTRATE, AND CRIED, 'THE _LORD _- HE IS GOD! THE _LORD _- HE IS GOD!'" **[Plasma rifle firing.][Shotgun firing.]**

**Man 6: [Distantly.]** Fuck! Fuck! Just fucking run! How can he run that fast in that armour?! **[Shotgun firing.][Screaming.]**

**Lone Wanderer:** "THEN ELIJAH COMMANDED THEM, 'SEIZE THE PROPHETS OF BAAL.'" **[Plasma rifle priming.]** "'DON'T LET ANYONE GET AWAY!'" **[Plasma rifle firing.][Screaming.][Sloshing liquid.]**

**Man 7: **HOLY SHIT! He melted Quinn's face off! **[Plasma rifle firing.][Screaming.]**

**Lone Wanderer:** "THEY SEIZED THEM, AND ELIJAH HAD THEM BROUGHT DOWN TO THE KISHON VALLEY AND SLAUGHTERED THERE!"

**Man 7: **OH PLEASE NO!**[Plasma rifle firing.][Screaming.]**

**Lone Wanderer:** IS ANYONE HERE GETTING THE METAPHOR?! OR AM I BEING TOO SUBTLE FOR YOU?! **[Multiple explosions.][Machine gun fire.] **CLEARLY I AM! LET'S TRY SOMETHING LOUDER! **[Distant screaming.] **DON'T THINK YOU CAN FUCKING RUN! CHARON! GET ME SOMETHING WITH A SCOPE!

**Day 48 Part 3: Not Insane.**

I've never heard an audio recording of me in combat before. I didn't realise I yelled Bible quotes when fighting, but Charon says I do it all the time. That's worrying. I didn't even know I memorised the Bible.

Well, whatevs. After my last audio entry, we raided SatCom. Constantine too.

I'll skip ahead and reveal the answer to the burning question right now. Crowley wanted a set of power armour being kept here in the fort. It's of a more advanced model than the kind that the Brotherhood or the Outcasts use. It's actually a non-winter version of the armour I wear. Imagine that.

So, what does this mean for Crowley? Means he's fucking dead for a start. He wanted me to kill that Strayer kid so he could have some shiny new armour? Fuck that. He's getting bitch slapped hard for this. Oh, and the reason Crowley didn't want me to kill the woman who was on his team was because she was already dead and laying in the fort. Still had her key on her. Hmm.

I've done a count up as well, of what we've gathered since the last time I checked our loot. I'll start off small.

Stealth boys. Two of them. Mini nukes. Five in total. A Nuka-Cola Quantum. Two copies of _Guns and Bullets_, and one each of _Duck and Cover!_, _Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual_, _Pugilism Illustrated_, _Nikola Tesla and You_, the _D.C Journal of Internal Medicine_, and the _Big Book of Science_. Three other pre-war books of no importance.

In terms of more important things, I got another new Grognak issue, and I think this is actually the last one in this series of _Grognak_, meaning I finally have a complete collection for my shelf in Megaton.

Also of interest, another Fat Man to fire all the mini nukes with, yet another set of schematics for the shishkebab, which I want to take back to Megaton to compare against the others, and another bobblehead for my collection too.

Lots of other strange shit happened around the fort while we were here too. The fedora guy showed up yet again, and just like the last two times, I was the only one who spotted him. He killed a robot for me outside the fort itself.

And there was also an Outcast patrol just outside when we arrived. Since Charon was decked out in Outcast armour though, and I had my helmet on at the time and was wielding plasma weapons, they mistook us for Outcasts too, though they weren't quite sure what to make of the fact that my armour wasn't painted like theirs was.

From them, we asked about what was going on with the Outcasts. I tried to get information out of them. See just how many of their number were left. They said that to their knowledge, there were three or four squads other than them, maximum, and that was all that was left. I said thank you and shot him in the gut, and then the rest.

And the last odd event of the day worth mention is that I located some ICBM launch codes while in Constantine. I tried to aim it at China and see if I can finish the job this time by wiping out the Asian Wasteland, but alas, I don't know if it worked because it told me there was an error and the security system spazzed out.

I kid though. I've seen Earth from space, and there's a great big yellow splotch where China is supposed to be on a globe.

In short: What Asian Wasteland?

**Day 49: Chillin' Out.**

Geez. Never thought I'd be able to say this, but today I just lounged around Fort Constantine and relaxed. Me and Charon took a break.

We played some chess with a makeshift board and mock pieces. Baseball too. Played some catch with Dogmeat. Did some hunting in the area around the fort to get us something for dinner. Cooked us a brahmin steak.

It was nice. I needed a quiet day, after everything. So much walking, and fighting, and looting, and...It just gets a little much sometimes, you know?

That's over now though. Tomorrow, we need to leave here, and get back to the serious work. It's nice to have some leisure time, but too much of it, and you just get bored.

I need something to help stave off the boredom. Something fun though. I don't want another super serious operation. Fighting badly armed raiders is just pointless slaughter with no challenge or reward. Super mutants, are strong, but they're too dumb to be tough opponents. Robots I find no joy in destroying like flesh and blood creatures, and wild animals have the same issues as super mutants.

I need to find the right balance of challenging, and fun, carefree slaughter.

...Ah, what the hell? Let's wipe out Paradise Falls.


	8. Week Eight

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Eight**

**Day 50: The Purge.**

Today, I present philosophical questions:

Is it right for me to judge the actions of others in an environment entirely different from the one I grew up in where different values are held and different means are necessary for survival? Is it my place to dispense justice upon people for perceived crimes in the eyes of myself and others, when they may not think of such acts as being evil at all and are merely trying to survive in a harsh and cruel world? And if it were my place, can I rightly call it justice, when it is more something I do out of a need to curb my murderous urges?

These are all interesting questions that will be extremely relevant tomorrow, but I won't bother asking them or finding answers, because I will be too busy gleefully blasting the heads off of the Paradise Falls slavers and watching as their brains fly through the air and leave a beautiful trail of crimson in their wake.

"Oh, that Lone Wanderer and his one-track mind," they will say, "Always ignoring the big questions for the sake of a good kill. Ow. You stabbed me."

But I argue that my killing has done this blasted hellhole a world of good and is the far more important part of this equation. I mean, look at Megaton. Before I arrived, zero murders as far as I am aware. Then I show up. I murder Moriarty, Jericho, Burke, and indirectly cause Lucy West's death as well.

Right there I've freed a ghoul slave and unintentionally allowed him to enter a romantic relationship with a girl way out of his league, allowed a young woman to escape the ever-present shadow of her would-be rapist, saved the rest of the town from being nuked to hell by some guy with even worse social skills than me, and killed a potential threat to myself so that I can go on living and other people around me can continue dropping like flies, consequently allowing me to bring justice and good fortune to the rest of the wasteland too.

I guess what I'm saying is that murder and death fixes everything. That's what's wrong with the Capital Wasteland. There are no other people like me in it. If everyone had a weapons stockpile as large as I have, and being an asshole was grounds to be shot under wasteland law, everything would be just peachy.

People in the Capital Wasteland don't kill each other enough. That's the problem.

Take Paradise Falls. Slaver central. The Temple of the Union bitches about slavery all the time and tries to free other slaves. Big Town bitches about slavers too. Three Dog says slavery is bad, mmkay, and most people in Rivet City and Megaton seem to agree with the sentiment. I somehow doubt that the Brotherhood of Steel have anything nice to say about the slavers, and assholes though they may have been, I don't think the Outcasts would have thrown their lot in with them either.

Hell, I'm not even sure the good people of Tenpenny Tower would have anything nice to say about Paradise Falls. If Alastair was willing to _nuke _Megaton because it was an eyesore, then I shudder to think what he'd have done to the ugliness that is the slavers' central headquarters.

So what's stopping one of these factions, ANY of them, just saying "We're tired of your shit," rounding up ten of their best men and a load of guns, and just wiping this place off the map?

See, people? THIS is why you need me. Everyone else in this mockery of pre-war society is too spineless to do it themselves. Someone needs to take some fucking initiative here. So in the interest of that, me and Charon have spent the day preparing for the assault.

As it happens, I already had just about everywhere of any significance east of Paradise Falls mapped out, so I decided today that we'd be scouting around the north and west sides so that we knew what we're dealing with.

On our journey from Constantine in the north, we made our way past several landmarks on the pre-war map that we checked out for any hint of slavers.

Mason Dixon Salvage was the first. Full of super mutants, and a girl we had to save, but no slavers. We tried to check out the Silver Lining Drive-In next, but we encountered raiders before we reached it, at Drowned Devil's Crossing, a collapsed bridge between the drive-in and the salvage yard. The drive-in was empty though.

We briefly made a diversion to head west from there, as we came across a large broadcast station. Nothing of note inside, though turning on a switch in there did cause it to start transmitting a signal, which led me to, where else, a sealed cistern. Only this one was actually worth the search, because I found another bobblehead for my collection in there. There was also a dead scavenger around there, but he didn't have anything good. Just a Chinese assault rifle.

After that, we headed south again, and passed through a group of ruined houses that used to be Faded Pomp Estates. Nothing there except the wildlife.

We then reached Roosevelt Academy, which was intended to be our final destination for the day. It turned out to be a super mutant base, and it had more hostages to save. We had a hard fight getting through it.

At one point, I think I saw my mysterious protector again too. I still don't know what his deal is. It's not that I don't appreciate the help, or the insane lengths he must have gone to for my trouble. I just don't get why he feels the need to hide from me.

In all honesty, my theory is that he's a Regulator agent. They're probably well aware that I'm a rebel and a killer, but they also know that I'm doing good and working for them now, so he's been assigned to tail me at all costs and make sure I stay in line.

If I continue doing generally good things like I have been, he and I will never speak to each other, and he'll keep following me and reporting back to the big bosses, occasionally stepping in to save my life so that I can continue dispensing wasteland justice. And if I'm too much of a wild card and they decide I'm not worth the destruction I cause, then he'll be the one to put me down, and I'll never see him coming.

But that's just me guessing. He could be Old Lady Palmer in a trench coat for all I know.

Anyway, the school was a tough fight, but we cleared it. Even though it was multiple buildings. And every one of those buildings had roughly twice as many super mutants as I believed there existed at all. And that WOULD have been the end of it, but then we were attacked by a raider.

One raider. By herself.

Points for bravery, but that didn't help her when I slashed her stomach open with Stabhappy and then strangled her with her large intestine.

'Course, that then meant that we had to scour the area in case there were more raiders. We later found out that the lone raider was operating by herself, and had a camp east of the academy which was protected by some annoying guard dogs, but we didn't know that at the time.

We were right though. There were coincidentally a group of unaffiliated raiders hiding out in the MDPL Mass Relay Station south of the academy.

I think the relay station was occupied by the Brotherhood of Steel at some point, but it seems they were driven out by the raiders we found there. We dealt with them easily enough though, even if a squad of power armoured troops could not.

These guys at least put up a slightly better fight than raiders usually do. Their leader was a colourful guy too. Crackpot called himself Torcher and charged me and Charon with a flamethrower. I decapitated him. Took his mask too. Not enough of my worthier kills have potential trophies for me to take. Arkansas had nothing but his sniper rifle, and that's long since been broken down for spare parts.

I can't even take fingers for that purpose because I need to hand them into the Regulators for pay.

Whatever though. My point is that after a long day of work, we've completely purged the areas surrounding Paradise Falls of raiders, super mutants, and anything else that might cause us problems. The salvage yard, broadcast station, drive-in, crossing, estates, academy, and relay station have all been added to my map for Reilly's task, and it seems that we know exactly what the landscape around Paradise Falls looks like.

Of course, for all our work, we still don't know what we're dealing with inside the town itself. No clue about numbers, or firepower. All our scouting and killing in the surrounding area has accomplished is confirmed that there are no reinforcements waiting over the hill if we attack the town. Which is something we could have done without spending a day exploring ruins and killing shit, even if it is fun and we get some good loot out of it occasionally.

Speaking of loot, I should list out today's haul, as a formality:

● The bobblehead and Torcher's mask that I've both already mentioned.

● Three copies each of _Tumblers Today _and _Pugilism Illustrated_.

● Two copies of the _D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine_.

● One copy of _Nikola Tesla and You_, _Guns and Bullets_, and a _Grognak the Barbarian_ comic.

● Three other random intact books of no interest. One of them is actually porn. I got my hopes up for a moment, but it turned out to be weird fetish porn about robots. God fucking damnit, pre-war America.

● Three stealth boys.

● Two bottles of Nuka-Cola Quantum.

Still though, I'm feeling rather underprepared for this assault. Paradise Falls is a big target to take down, and me and Charon could very well be overwhelmed in there.

Then again, the same was true when I took on the advanced alien race on their own mothership and won, and it was also true when I singlehandedly stormed Fort Independence and ruined the main contingency of the Brotherhood Outcasts with just my vault jumpsuit and a jury rigged missile launcher I took from some raiders.

Perhaps I'm just being paranoid.

**Day 51: THIS IS SKULL VAULT, USA.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: **I'm the king of the castle! And you're a dirty rascal!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Get down from there! You're drunk!

**Dogmeat: [Barking.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **NO! I won this town. It's MINE now. I am allowed to get drunk in MY town, on MY roof, if I fucking want to, Charon! And don't you EVER fucking DARE talk to me like you have any kind of authority! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?! DO YOU?!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Honestly? No. It's not my place to question.

**Lone Wanderer: **And while you're DAMN right about that, I don't fucking like you being all stoic and silent all the time! Is some decent fucking conversation during my long journeys too much to ask for?!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Please, just calm down now...

**Lone Wanderer: **NO. I WILL NOT! Why don't you ever talk to me, Charon?! Why don't you ever ask me anything?!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Because it's...not my place...

**Lone Wanderer: **Stop bullshitting me you overly obedient weirdo! What is your damn deal?! What does it take to get you to have a normal reaction to something? Why do you follow whoever has your contract even if I don't actually pay you?! What's your real name?! How can you learn such strange things about me like my time in Anchorage or my unexplained regeneration and not even be curious enough to ask about it?! What IS IT with you?!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **...Look, boss...

**Lone Wanderer: **Did you EVER consider for even a moment that I might have been trying to talk to you for talking's own sake?! Maybe I want to be friends! Maybe I'm called the Lone Wanderer for a reason! Because all my other friends are either dead or trapped in a vault underground, and I will NEVER see them again, and I'm in a whole new world now that I'm learning more and more about every day, and I keep meeting so many new people, and I keep trying to make new friends with them, and they KEEP. DYING. CHARON.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **...Is...Is this about that girl you recognised?

**Lone Wanderer: **Her name was Somah, and yes, it is. I'm a little fucking upset about that.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **...If...If you _want _me to talk about it, I can do that. I'm not good at talking though. You should know that.

**Lone Wanderer: **I think all I care about at this point is that you're trying.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **...Are you going to get off the roof now?

**Lone Wanderer: **Actually, can you come and get me? I don't remember how I got up here, and I'm scared of heights.

**Day 52: Mayor of a Ghost Town.**

Paradise Falls, or as I have since renamed it, Skull Vault, was a hard won fight.

Many died in its defence. The defence against me. In fact, everyone died in its defence. I didn't let a single slaver leave the town alive, and that includes my old companion, Somah. She was a slaver the whole time. And I didn't pick up on it. Those alien weapons she took with her? They went to slavers. They were used against me in the fight.

I came into the town with Charon and killed everyone I came across. Dogmeat ran up a watch tower and bit some minigun-wielding dude in the nuts. Charon's moment of glory was when we confronted the big boss, Eulogy Jones, and he just sliced his throat right open with the trench knife. Me?

The moment that stuck with me was when I found Somah in Eulogy's pad. When the fight broke out, and she saw who it was, she fled back into the building. It never would have worked though. We checked every building immediately after we were done with the fight outside. No-one would have ever gotten away.

And she'd tried to run. She begged for mercy. Threw down the alien rifle. Said she surrendered. Tried to remind me of Zeta. Made it sound like I owed her.

But I couldn't let a slaver live.

I crushed her to death. With my arms. It was sort of like giving her a goodbye hug, only I got red smeared all over the front of my power armour, and she _really _didn't like goodbyes.

...Despite everything though...I'm happy. I'm happy because I'm sad. I'm not making much sense, but after I killed Somah, I realised that I felt really bad about it. It was new.

I didn't feel a thing when I drew my first blood and beat Officer Kendall to death. Nor the rest of the security guards. Or Amata's dad, the Overseer. I felt no remorse or regret when I killed Burke, Jericho, Moriarty, Tenpenny, Sam Warrick, Arkansas, Evan King, Ian West, Vance, Dave, Dukov, the AntAgonizer, that Railroad chick, the insane Rivet City security guard I met on Zeta, or any of the countless raiders, slavers, Outcasts, aliens, super mutants, feral ghouls, cannibals, Arefu residents and anything else I killed. If anything, those brought me nothing but visceral joy.

For the first time though, I feel bad for killing someone. It makes me happy, because it means that I might have been wrong about myself. When I noticed my lack of emotion regarding the deaths after I left the vault, I thought it meant I had _no_ emotions.

I was always a detached sort. Never that popular in the vault. Amata was my only real friend my age. The only other people I got on with were the adults, like dad and his friends, who just took a liking to me when I was a kid, and never stopped liking me as I grew into a bitter and unpleasant teenager.

It made me think...What if I didn't really feel anything at all? What if I was dead inside, and all the friendships I forged and the social rituals I acted out like everyone else, were just me going through the motions to please the normals? My lack of ability to feel anything when I kept seeing people I had known for my whole life dying around me, sometimes at my hands, was what convinced me of this.

But Somah proved to me that I was wrong. My emotions are real. My friendships were real. How else can I feel bad about killing Somah, if I didn't consider her a friend on some level?

Maybe I'm still fucked up. I've got to be to still not feel anything about all the _other _people I've killed. But I found one who I did care about enough that it actually got to me. And for that, I'm glad. Maybe there's still some trace of humanity left in me.

I miss my dad so much. I need to find him.

Right now though...I think I'm going to be alright. Skull Vault may be full of bodies, but it's a safe haven for now. Charon and Dogmeat are here to keep me company. I'm not alone. I do still have friends.

**Day 53: Paradise Fallen.**

After two days of moping around this place, I've decided that it's high time to leave Skull Vault to be reclaimed by the wasteland. Me and Charon have been busy scouring the town for most of today making sure we haven't missed anything for when we decide to leave.

The slaves were already let free immediately after we finished the assault, and are long gone by now. The dead slavers' bodies have all been moved too. We dumped them in the slave pens in a big pile. Except for Eulogy Jones and Somah. The latter we buried outside the town near the entrance, alongside a slave who got killed by his explosive collar as he was trying to escape. The former we stripped and fed to Dogmeat.

Morbid, maybe, but Dogmeat wasn't complaining. I think all wasteland dogs eat humans if they find them dead. And if they're fresh enough. He certainly didn't act like this was a first time thing. Though just in case it was, I took the liberty of chopping Eulogy up into little pieces and cooking them until they were nice and crispy first.

Charon kept looking at me weird when I was preparing the torso. I don't know what his problem is. That's far from the strangest thing he's caught me doing.

We've also mapped the location for Reilly and collected up anything of value we found in the town. A pre-war book about types of cars that I couldn't care less about since there are no more cars, five Quantums, a bobblehead for my collection which used to belong to Eulogy, a very nice red suit and hat that also used to belong to Eulogy, various weapons, armour and ammunition, all of which that we can carry we have since picked up, and a pool cue, which I killed a slaver with when I was temporarily disarmed, and I am now taking with me as a memento.

Also of interest to me, is that we came across two notable holotapes while here.

The first one I found with a vault jumpsuit, from Vault 77. Apparently the jumpsuit belonged to some guy who the slavers are really afraid of, and the holotape says they wanted to destroy it for fear that he'd come back for it. I'd like to think that maybe they were confused and thought this was my jumpsuit, but maybe I'm just flattering myself there. They probably know which vault I'm from, if they know who I am at all.

And this Vault 77...Never heard of it. It wasn't on the computer at Vault-Tec HQ either. Then again, neither was 112, and I know that exists. Whoever this mysterious rival vault dweller is, he's probably real, and if so, he's definitely got my respect. I'm taking this jumpsuit with me too.

The second one?

The slavers found a holotape by the android. By the sounds of it, I think it was intended for someone from the Railroad. And it reveals that the android made this just before he was about to undergo the surgery and memory wipe, and who was performing these operations. Some guy called Pinkerton, in Rivet City.

I've been to Rivet City, and I didn't meet no Pinkerton there. Something strange is afoot. It's a good thing I cleared this place when I did though, otherwise the slavers might have provided Zimmer and Armitage a vital clue to finding the android before me. And that cannot happen.

Now I need to decide what my priorities are. I can find Vault 112 and dad, somewhere south and west of here, or I can come to rescue of this android, whose potential captors are looming in on him.

I really want to find dad, but I don't even know if he's still alive by now, and besides, I know of at least four potential places he could return to at any time once he's done, Rivet City being one of them, which is where I'd have to go to to save this android, and Megaton and GNR being two others, both of which I'd probably have to pass through on my way there.

This android though could be in real danger. And I have a duty now. Intentionally or otherwise, I have become the protector of the wasteland now. It's my job to sort this mess out.

I'm going to Rivet City.

**Day 54: Halfway Point.**

We took the most direct route to get to Megaton from Paradise Falls. I would have liked to have found time to stop by Jury Street Metro Station and look into that paper trail I found in the museum in D.C., but I simply hadn't the time.

Once we got back to Megaton, we didn't stay long. I offloaded all the excess weapons, ammunition, books, chems, and whatever else we didn't need onto the traders about town, including the Outcast power armour I originally fixed up for Charon. It was weighing us down. Besides, Charon's got something much better now. The T-51b suit from Fort Constantine that Crowley was after. Now we've got matching sets, only mine is built for freezing winter conditions.

Also of note is that some of the stuff we sold, we sold to the caravan traders. Lucky Harith was one, and he just took my stuff and said he'd pay me back, because he already gave me most of his money for the portion of the Wheaton stash I told him about. I looked back on my old entries, and realised that I never mentioned that I had informed him of it last time I encountered him in Megaton. But I did. And he's already collected it all and paid me for it. So next time I meet Harith he's going to give me the caps he owes for what I gave him this time.

Everything else I didn't want to drag along with me, I stored in the lockers. The Vault 77 jumpsuit, Eulogy's suit and hat, Torcher's mask, and the pool cue are all added in with the rest of my trophies. The dozens and dozens of bottles of Quantum have found their way into the machine upstairs, while my fridge has seen the addition of a load of preserved food we took from Skull Vault.

The alien weapons we took back from the dead slavers though, we didn't sell. Those I've left in the personal custody of Wadsworth. These are too advanced for me to let them fall into the hands of wasteland scumbags like the slavers. And now that I've taken those back, that means that I have full ownership of every single one of them. And aside from the unique models I've got in my weapons locker in case of emergencies, I want all alien weapons to remain on board Mothership Zeta in Elliot's custody, until I can decide what to do with them all.

I need to be responsible about these things. Next time I pass through Megaton heading north, I'll pick them up again and return them to Zeta.

Right now though, I know there's no way we're going to make it to Rivet City today, and I don't want to have to stop halfway at Dukov's place again. I never cleared the bodies out of there, and I shudder to think what it must smell like by now. We're just gonna stay here for the rest of the night and leave early tomorrow morning.

**Day 54 Part 2: Alcohol.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**[**_**Maybe **_**by Ink Spots, 1940, playing in background.]**

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Hey, Gob! How's it hanging?

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **That you? Never seen you come into the bar in power armour before. Can't say I've even seen you about town with your helmet on before, either. Who's your friend?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **It's Charon.

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Oh.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Yeah. Surprise, surprise. The mystery man here can wear power armour too. I didn't even know until a few days ago myself.

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Hmm.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Hold on a moment...**[Hissing.][Clunking.] **That's better. Good to breathe without the air filters for once. I have to have this thing on near constantly out there now.

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **That bad, huh?

**Lone Wanderer: **We just came back from Paradise Falls. That should tell you all you need to know.

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Paradise Falls?! What were you doing there?!

**Lone Wanderer: **What do you think we were doing? We were killing some damn slavers.

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Oh...**[Sigh of relief.] **Thank God. For a moment there I thought-

**Lone Wanderer: **Thought what?

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Umm...Nothing. I just thought...Wait a minute. You mean to tell me you attacked Paradise Falls by yourselves?

**Lone Wanderer: **Yep.

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **..._All _of Paradise Falls?

**Lone Wanderer: **Of course.

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **...And...?

**Lone Wanderer: **And what?

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Well, what happened?!

**Lone Wanderer: **It's gone. We wiped it out. Slavers are dead. Slaves are free. I'm wealthy enough to buy Tenpenny Tower seven times over. What else did you expect?

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **You-! How-?!

**Lone Wanderer: **You sound surprised.

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **It's because I am! How did you do that?! Do you have any idea how many times people have tried to put an end to the slavers before now?! That's like-

**Lone Wanderer: **Shh! I think it's time for Three Dog's news report!

**Three Dog: [Through radio.] **GNR. Three Dog. All you need to know. We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for, SOME NEWS!

**Lone Wanderer: **Gee, I wonder if I'll be involved again.

**Three Dog: [Through radio.] **All right, children. It's time for Three Dog to be honest with ya. Here it is, plain as day - I used to think we were all well and truly fucked. The good ole U.S. of A... ahhh, she's a mess. I had pretty much written us all off. But that was before a certain kid from Vault 101...

**Lone Wanderer: **CALLED IT, BITCHES!

**Three Dog: [Through radio.] **I've always given it to you straight, have I not? For good or ill, Galaxy News Radio has been the voice of truth on these airwaves. So believe me when I tell you that I was wrong. Dead wrong. That kid from Vault 101 is the last, best hope of humanity-

**Lone Wanderer: **Oh, baby! Work the shaft!

**Three Dog: [Through radio.][Giggling in background.] **We'll get through this,children. You just gotta believe. For now, listen close, as I share yet another of our friend's adventures.

**Lone Wanderer: **Thank you, thank you everyone.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **Hmm.

**Three Dog: [Through radio.]** Looks like that loony lad from Vault 101's been busy lately, this time systematically executing some of the wasteland's most colourful characters. What's the deal, 101? You killin' for kicks, or is this a paying gig? Maybe I'll just ask around Underworld, hmmm? 'Cause a little irradiated birdy told me you've been spending some serious time down in Ghoulville.

**Lone Wanderer: **Uhh...Shit.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **Boss?

**Lone Wanderer: **Charon, we may have an intelligence leak.

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **...Who have you been killing, mister?

**Lone Wanderer: **...Oh, you know...Um...Raiders, and...slavers...super mutants...

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.]** ...Aliens...

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **And Moriarty?

**Lone Wanderer: **SHHH!

**Gob: [Muffled protests.]**

**Lone Wanderer: [Whispering.] **How did you know?

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly whispering.] **I didn't, until you just told me.

**Lone Wanderer: [Whispering.] **Fuck.

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly whispering.] **Hey, I'm not holding it against you. Between you and me...I'm glad you did it.

**Lone Wanderer: [Whispering.] **...Still...shit...

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly whispering.] **Were...I mean...Just after you arrived in town, Jericho-

**Lone Wanderer: [Whispering.] **Yes. Please. Please, Gob. Don't tell anyone. Even if they already suspect, please don't...

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly whispering.] **...Was Lucy West...?

**Lone Wanderer: [Whispering.] **No. That wasn't me. That was Wadsworth. He was instructed to kill intruders.

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly whispering.] **Oh. But she was saying for days before, about you and Arefu-

**Lone Wanderer: [Whispering.] **The people of Arefu were cannibals.

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly whispering.] **What?!

**Lone Wanderer: [Whispering.] **Yes! It's true! Evan King, and Lucy's brother Ian West, and all of them were cannibals! Part of a larger cannibal clan called the Family! They put about a rumour that they were being attacked by the Family to keep away traders and people who might discover the truth. Lucy was also a cannibal! She sent me to the town under the guise of delivering a letter so that her brother could eat me! But I discovered the truth before they could do it, and I killed Arefu and the rest of the Family in self defence. Lucy was breaking into my home to kill and eat me for revenge. Wadsworth killed her because I figured it out, and knew she'd try something.

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly whispering.] **Jesus Christ...I had no idea...

**Lone Wanderer: [Whispering.] **I know. It's tragic. Truly tragic. I did all I could.

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly whispering.] **Damn...

**Lone Wanderer: [Whispering.] **Please, don't tell anyone, Gob.

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly whispering.] **I won't. I promise.

**Lone Wanderer: **Good. Charon, come on! We're heading home. Can't stay here right now.

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **You haven't ordered any drinks though.

**Lone Wanderer: **Haven't I? What a shame. Look at the time though. It's getting late and I need sleep. Charon!

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly, voice.] **At least take one for the road.

**Lone Wanderer: **Huh?

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly, voice.] **Here. For...Moriarty. On the house.

**Lone Wanderer: **...Thank you, Gob.

**Gob: [Deep, gravelly, voice.] **My pleasure. See you soon, drunkie.

**Day 55: Resolutions to Mysteries.**

The run to D.C. was more eventful than I was expecting it to be.

First, while passing that sewer waystation near Grayditch that I still intend to come back to and explore one day, I came across a grave. I have no idea whose grave it is, but what's important is it contained a log from that same search party that I've been finding the graves and notes of all over the city. Kaya, the only other named party member as far as I can remember, apparently headed home after this point. The guy who's been writing these notes so far continued on, tracking some gigantic super mutant. Sounds like the one I encountered at GNR, and the other one at Takoma.

Then I passed through a place called Wilhelm's Wharf, where I met this old lady. She didn't talk much. Reminded me of Agatha a bit, though only a little. Maybe it's just because they're both old and living in isolated places.

And THEN I went across the bridge to the Anchorage memorial. There I heard a scream, and we all had to go running to rescue a captured wastelander from a super mutant camp. She was grateful for the help. I was grateful for the fact that I found yet another pre-war audio log from that family hoping to get into the army bunker.

This one was from a guy called Ralph, and was addressed to Candace. I think they were siblings, because he told her to tell their dad that he would rather walk into a mushroom cloud than spend the apocalypse in the shelter with him. What a good son. At least I got another number for their code out of this though. Hey, maybe one day I might find some more tapes that reveal the whole thing!

Also this means that between Candace, Tina, Alex who stole the passcode, and now this douche, this one couple had _four kids_. Dayum.

I know Moira also wanted me to plant some surveillance device in the Anchorage memorial for her so that she could observe mirelurks, but a robot's life hung in the balance and there was not much time for distractions, so I resolved to come back to it later.

We made it to Rivet City about midday, and I immediately got to work trying to locate this Pinkerton fellow. As it happened, he was in the broken bow of the ship, which is separate from the other half of the ship that Rivet City is based in, and was also infested with mirelurks and full of traps, at least until I cleaned it out.

Pinkerton was there, hiding out in the darkest depths of the place, where he had set up his own personal workshop. I think the guy was some major player in the founding of Rivet City who got pissed off and left or something. It's not entirely clear. I wanted to ask him more about the city's history, but I was in somewhat of a hurry at the time.

But he helped me out though. Gave me a holotape among other things. And you'll never guess who the android is.

It's Harkness. The head of Rivet City Security.

I was just as shocked as Harkness himself when I broke the news. He was so perfect in his imitations of a human, he convinced me _and_ himself. Still though, despite all I could learn from Zimmer, I just couldn't go through with handing Harkness over to him. So we decided that Zimmer needed to die.

He let me do the killing. Harkness authorised me to carry out the executions of Dr. Zimmer and Armitage, with the understanding that this was a one time thing. As the head of security, it was well within his power to allow.

So me, Harkness, Charon and Dogmeat proceeded to the labs, where Zimmer was still waiting for an audience with Dr. Li, who I am convinced was actively ignoring him this whole time just to see how long he would stay there. I'm not even sure if he left the room in all the time I was away.

Harkness cleared the scientists out of the room by discreetly informing them of what was about to happen, and I beat Zimmer to death by repeatedly punching him in the face. Armitage was taken off guard. He drew a gun, but Charon shot it out of his hands and began wrestling with him while I finished up with Zimmer.

It was then I realised that we had a problem, because Armitage happens to be an android, and those are tough motherfuckers. He picked up Charon, power armour and all, and then broke his back over his knee. I was well and truly pissing myself by this point. I later found that Charon had survived, albeit now in great agony, but from my perspective I had just seen this guy kill my companion with his bare hands _through _the same model of power armour that I regularly relied upon to save _my_ life.

So I pulled out all the stops.

Blackhawk was first. I emptied six .44 rounds into Armitage's head. He rammed a fist into my chest plate and winded me. Stabhappy came out. I slashed the flesh deep enough to rip it off and reveal the metal underneath, reminding me how pointless it was trying to stab a robot to death. I planted it in his eye and electrocuted myself, before he kicked me across the room.

Dogmeat went for his nuts, like a good boy, but was also kicked aside carelessly while I got the Gauss rifle and fired a shot at his head again. The Gauss was my chosen energy rifle for this fight. I kept up that system I suggested, where we'd keep excess weapons in the backpacks and I'd only carry one energy rifle, standard rifle, sidearm, knife, and the deathclaw gauntlet.

My standard rifle, since the Gauss takes long to reload, was Ol' Painless. I emptied all my rounds from that into the android, and the bastard still didn't go down. At this point I was kinda hoping that Harkness would step in to help, but he had left with the last of the scientists before the fight even began, as I had assured him that we were more than capable of handling the situation.

Anyway, so all my guns had failed, and the knife was no good. Time to change tactics again. _Seven _Nuka grenades later, and I blew his legs off. Then he started crawling towards me across the lab, like a creature out of my nightmares.

I jumped on his back and tried to hold him down. Even in such a state, fucker was strong. It was an ordeal holding his arms away from me. In the end, I had to take a deathclaw gauntlet to both of his shoulders and removed them to get him to stop struggling. And even then he still didn't die until I plunged the claws into the back of his neck and wrenched the whole head off.

And stabbed the head repeatedly afterwards, because after the torso was dead, the head was still yelling curse words at me.

Harkness came running when he heard the grenade explosions, and arrived just in time to see me finish it off. Apparently that kind of durability was far from standard for androids, and he didn't expect we'd have as much trouble as we did.

After all the trouble I went to trying to find Harkness and save him from his recapture, I wish I could have avoided this whole fiasco. How naive my earlier entries seem now, when I was so excited to find out about these androids roaming the Capital Wasteland, hoping so dearly to meet one.

If I never meet another android as long as I live, I won't just die a happy man, I'll die singing and dancing with a great big fucking smile on my face.

**Day 56: Intensive Care.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**[Geiger counter clicking in background.]**

**Lone Wanderer: [Coughing.] **Hey, what's up, diary?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Ahhhh...

**Lone Wanderer: **I'm making this journal entry to...just give a quick update, because I'll soon be in no condition to write any more of these. So...yeah...Make sure the transcription software still works...Testing now...

Testing. Good. Line breaks still work. Right.

You know, I've noticed an error in the other transcripts. It indicates when there's a sound going on, like footsteps if it's me and Charon walking, or music playing in the background, which it can even identify by title, artist and date produced if the bar entry transcript is anything to go by, but it never actually puts a label to indicate when the sound has stopped. It'll never say, "footsteps stop" if we cease walking. That's annoying. It's one of my few complaints about the software. But I digress.

Today, me and Charon are undergoing treatment for our wounds from yesterday's fight. And there were a lot of them. All through last night, they were pumping us full of chems and stimpaks to make sure we didn't die, and trying to stop the most immediate problems. It's something like five AM now, and we're undergoing radiation treatment.

Charon's broken spine, like most other injuries, can be reliably healed through exposure to radiation. It's a ghoul thing. And though they were surprised to hear it, I told them that I can do something similar, though I'm still vulnerable to radiation sickness unlike a ghoul.

My original solution was to carry Charon on my back into the D.C. ruins, and the both of us could take a rest in the middle of the white house and just wait to get better. As Dr. Preston pointed out though, I was in no condition to do that. So instead, Harkness got a bunch of Rivet City security guys to fetch some radioactive water and some old bath tubs from some pre-war houses. Me and Charon are just soaking in some irradiated water right now and letting the wounds heal themselves. And I am regularly being fed RadAway by the doc to prevent radiation sickness as well.

It's a pretty weird solution, but it works. I'll be feeling right as rain in no time. For now, I've been given orders to relax, though preferably not to relax enough to fall asleep in case I drown in the tub. Hence this audio log. Keeps my thoughts focused. I am so fucking tired right now, and I hate radiation.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.]** You hate radiation? I guess you're really not a ghoul after all.

**Lone Wanderer: **Yeah, because if I were, I'd be getting off on this like you, right?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Um...

**Lone Wanderer: **...Charon...

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Yeah?

**Lone Wanderer: **You _aren't _actually getting off on this, are you?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **...No. Of course not.

**Lone Wanderer: **...Oh my God!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Boss-!

**Lone Wanderer: **Dude!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Boss, I can-

**Lone Wanderer: **DUDE!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **It's not like how you're-

**Lone Wanderer: **Fucking RADIATION of all things?!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **It's really-

**Lone Wanderer: **You twisted FUCK.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Oh, screw you, smoothskin!

**Lone Wanderer: **I'd rather not, if it's all the same to you!

**Day 56 Part 2: Almost Human.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: **So...Doctor Preston. Give it to be me straight. What did you find?

**Doctor Preston: **Well...**[Pages turning.]** Umm...

**Lone Wanderer: **_Yes_?

**Doctor Preston: **The surgery revealed some...interesting finds.

**Lone Wanderer: **Well, come on then. Out with it. Why can I regenerate like that?

**Doctor Preston: **To put it frankly, it's a mutation. Entirely benign, and in fact very helpful all things considered, but as far as I can tell, your regeneration ability is the result of some kind of growth or mutation caused by exposure to radiation. I've never seen a random mutation that manifested like this before. It's a truly one-in-a-million thing.

**Lone Wanderer: **...Moira. It must have been...

**Doctor Preston: **Sorry?

**Lone Wanderer: **Nothing. Just...Thinking about things.

**Doctor Preston: **...And that's not all.

**Lone Wanderer: **Oh God, what else?

**Doctor Preston: **Your blood also contains trace amounts of...ant DNA.

**Lone Wanderer: **Ant?

**Doctor Preston: **Giant ants. I'm sure you've seen them before. Astonishingly, this has also proven a positive enhancement to you, as your strength-

**Lone Wanderer: **OH! That's the ant might. It's an experimental serum. I knew about that.

**Doctor Preston: **...Okay. And are you also aware of the metal alloy lacing your skeleton?

**Lone Wanderer: **The what now?

**Doctor Preston: **Your entire skeletal structure is encased an unknown metal. Makes you more durable, but heavier too. Do you know how that happened?

**Lone Wanderer: **...I...might have been abducted by aliens once...

**Doctor Preston: **...Okaaay...And did these "aliens" also implant the cybernetics along your left arm and the left side of your skull?

**Lone Wanderer: **...You're shitting me.

**Doctor Preston: **Nope. You're definitely a cyborg. Though I've never seen a design like this before. By the looks of it, it's designed to make you slightly more durable as well, though these also have the secondary functions of dispensing drugs and antitoxins to make you more resistant to poison and radiation, and interfacing directly with your brain to subconsciously advise you on the best course of action during combat with energy weapons.

**Lone Wanderer: **...I fucking hate aliens.

**Doctor Preston: **Really? That's all you have to say about this?

**Lone Wanderer: **What more is there to say? Life is stupid, I'm a mutated cyborg freak, and the Capital Wasteland can suck me.

**Day 56 Part 3: Taking Out Frustration.**

It's been a miserable few days. Charon and me are better now, but I'm still not feeling like my old self. No wonder, considering a good portion of my old self was removed and replaced with cybernetics and tumours. And I'm still stuck in this fucking depressing city. I've had enough of this place. I don't want to be here. I want to go find dad.

And I want to kill something. After that fight with the android, and all I did for Harkness, plus that miserable radiation bath and surgery, I deserve some _me_ time.

Hmm...I wonder if that Seagrave Holmes guy stuck around...

**Day 56 Part 4: I Live For This.**

Seagrave, oh Seagrave, why did you scream?

Can't you tell there's no escaping from me?

I soundproofed the room before you arrived.

You and me can have fun, all day and all night.

I'll start with your hands, because they went for your gun,

You'll not stop me this night, from having my fun!

And then once they're cut off, they go down your throat,

So you can see what you taste like, while you slowly choke.

And you've spat them back over me, and I'm covered in saliva,

So let's cut off your dick, and give you a vagina.

Oh you don't like that I did that? Carved you a new hole?

Maybe you should have thought of that, before you sold people's souls?

So time for the finale, lay down and lay still.

I've sharpened up Stabhappy just for this one final kill.

And before I cut your neck, take time to pray before you're done.

Because you're about to receive the reckoning, of Vault 101.


	9. Week Nine

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Nine**

**Day 57: Finish the Job.**

I may have been slightly careless with Holmes. Should have realised the inherent problem with killing someone in their own room. Someone's bound to see you leave it.

Fortunately for me, I brought along my backpack to the kill room, which contained the Chinese stealth armour. I changed out of the power armour and chucked it and the chopped up and wrapped body parts into the backpack, and then carried it out of the room while both it and me were invisible thanks to the stealth armour's effects.

I am EXTREMELY lucky, because that was entirely unintentional. I never planned the escape with the stealth armour. I just had it with me and improvised a plan. If I had decided to leave the pack behind, I would have been fucked.

So, what then? Breaking into the Rivet City armoury and leaving the wrapped up body parts there. That's what. And you will not fucking believe this, but there were schematics for the rock-it launcher there too. These things are everywhere. I feel like we're being invaded.

I stole it. Because after you're murdered someone and hidden the body, what's a little theft on top?

But despite the close call, I think that was a good way to start my day. I was feeling so refreshed, I decided to stop moping about that whole cyborg mutant thing that got me so down, and went to do some good deeds for the day, starting with helping Angela seduce that church acolyte she's had her eye on, because she's alone and horny, and I can relate.

Everything else that people needed help with though involved work outside the city. So I decided it was time to head into the D.C. ruins again to get to work on some of them.

Harkness gave me his plasma rifle as we left. A gesture of goodwill for helping him, and compensation for me and Charon's injuries after the battle with Armitage. I asked what he planned to do with the other android's body. He thinks it should either be the property of Rivet City now, since it was killed here, or since I'm the one who killed him, I could take it, if I wanted to.

So yeah, Armitage is the property of Rivet City now.

Charon, Dogmeat and I headed into D.C. around midday. We stopped by the Ranger HQ for a spell to rest up and collect the caps for all the locations I've mapped, and then proceeded in the direction of Underworld.

Underworld was where we stayed the rest of the day, and where we are now. Charon's feeling strange being back home again after so long, and considering the way he left. Even more so now that he's wearing the very thing that Crowley was plotting murder over. And Crowley is super angry about it.

He won't be soon though. Tomorrow, he dies.

**Day 58: Making People Happy.**

Crowley's murder went by surprisingly without consequence. All I needed to do was get Charon to do it. As I instructed, he walked up to Crowley, and was all:

"Crowley. You killed my father."

And he was all:

"What?! The fuck you talking about, Charon?! I didn't kill nobody!"

And then Charon shot him.

And just as I predicted, because he was a ghoul as well and seemed to have a good reason for it, when he killed Crowley, no-one gave a shit. Charon wasn't happy that I made him do that, but I told him it was for the greater good. He grumbled at me a bit for a while after, and then seemed to forget about it later in the day and loosen up again. So I guess it didn't weigh _too _heavily on his conscience.

We then proceeded to head into the other sections of the Museum of History, away from Underworld, in search of that poster that Hannibal wanted. We found it, along with a massive load of Abraham Lincoln memorabilia.

Then we went to the Lincoln Memorial, where the Temple of the Union people had set up. I provided them with their poster, and they restored the statue to its former glory before the day was out. They also happened to inform me that Three Dog had been reporting about what I did at Paradise Falls on the radio, and that several of the slaves from there had come to them in recent days. They were very happy about that.

He gave me some schematics as partial payment, and this time, surprisingly, it was of something new. A dart gun, for incapacitating people. Makes use of trace amounts of radscorpion poison. Sounds damn useful, particularly for my line of work. I even have all the materials to construct one back home in Megaton. Just need a radscorpion poison gland.

I mean, not all these inventions are useful. The rock-it launcher, shishkebab and bottlecap mines are rather useless to me, but Nuka grenades are some of the best explosives out there, the deathclaw gauntlet was a lifesaver when it came to Armitage, and Charon has since made the railway rifle his weapon of choice over the shotgun, at least for long range encounters, and ammo for it is surprisingly common.

Our next stop was the National Archives, where we needed to retrieve the declaration of independence.

It was a son of a bitch to do, but we managed the job, fighting through robots and super mutants to do it. We were also assisted by a woman named Sydney, who was the last person that Abraham Washington in Rivet City hired for this job. She's just been having trouble getting through the mutants here, so she's been taking her sweet time doing it.

Once we got out of the place though, we did so with not just the declaration, but also the bill of rights, the magna carta, and a shitload of books. Also a novelty wig that was being worn by a protectron that was programmed to think it was Button Gwinnett.

From there, it was straight back to Rivet City. Through the Capitol Building. Where there were Talon mercenaries fighting super mutants. That went about as well as you'd expect.

Which is to say very well. We all came out alive and relatively unharmed at the other end, even though a behemoth was in our way. Then it was clear sailing onwards to Rivet City, where we collected our prizes. I got yet more railway rifle schematics, making this the third set of them I've come across now, and also some caps.

A decent amount of caps, mind you. I got even more than Sydney because I also brought him the magna carta, bill of rights, and all that Lincoln crap I collected too. Sydney left soon after for Underworld.

And once again, I find myself spending the night in Rivet City.

As you'd expect, the excursion into the ruins of D.C. today yielded loot. I sold most of it at Rivet City, and some at Underworld.

Overall, I shifted:

● x2 _Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual_.

● x2 _D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine_.

● x2 _Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor_.

● x2 _Lying, Congressional Style_.

● x1 _U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes_.

● x1 _Nikola Tesla and You_.

● x1 _Duck and Cover!_

● x6 other books that no-one gives a crap about.

● x1 stealth boy.

● A fuckload of weapons and ammunition including a Fat Man.

And in terms of things I kept, I got a few mini nukes, and two Quantums.

Overall, it's been an average day.

**Day 59: We Take Shit Seriously.**

An early morning check at the Jefferson Memorial revealed that dad still has not returned there, and I'm beginning to get concerned. It's high time I went west in search of him.

To that end, we headed up towards Megaton today to resupply for that trek tomorrow.

On the way, we passed by the Anchorage memorial, so I decided that since we wouldn't start the search until tomorrow at the soonest, we may as well take some time out to do Moira's task.

It annoyed me that I was unable to kill the mirelurks nesting there, but with the stealth suit, I soon was able to avoid them. Charon waited outside with the rest of the stuff. Moira's bug was planted, just how she wanted.

I also came out of the place with another Quantum, and six more intact books, including a _D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine_, a _Dean's Electronics_, and a _U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes_. Plus, my personal favourite, the biggest fucking sledgehammer I've ever seen. You know how I am with novelty weapons, so I had to have it.

We made it back to Megaton just as the daylight was dying. We didn't have time to see Moira, so we just went immediately back home to put away all the new stuff we've collected since our last visit here, like the Quantums and the mini nukes and the sledgehammer and the wig and Harkness's plasma rifle, and just sat around listening to GNR.

Three Dog's reports tonight have been informative. Evergreen Mills is getting antsy with Paradise Falls having just been wiped out, Tenpenny Tower continue to be a bunch of douchebags to ghouls, and my collecting of the violin for Agatha has somehow reached Three Dog's ears. I wonder sometimes what sources he gets his news from. Regulators or Brotherhood of Steel would be my guess.

I should appreciate the relative lack of other distractions right now though. I know it won't last.

**Day 60: Westward Bound.**

Moira paid us for the work at Anchorage memorial with stealth boys and a hat. Can't say I'm not disappointed. I sold the stealth boys right back to her along with all the books and such from yesterday, though I kept the hat and put that away in the locker.

I also changed my mind about the plasma rifle that Harkness gave me. It's actually a superior model to mine, so I sold my generic plasma rifle and have taken to using his one instead. And I stored away the Gauss rifle as well, because I'm sick of how long it takes for the damn thing to reload, no matter how damaging it is.

Think positive, though. Now that I'm no longer carrying the Gauss around, I finally have an excuse to use the sniper rifle again.

We went west to check out Jury Street Metro Station first. That ended with us fighting another super mutant behemoth, which I was forced to waste a decent amount of Nuka grenades on too. I may be mistaken, but I think this behemoth was the same one that was mentioned in those search party logs. If so, I'm pretty sure they were all wiped out, and Cheryl may have never been found. That's depressing.

I checked out the diner while I was here too. That guy, Prime? The one who was waiting for Jiggs from the museum to give him his share? Guy's dead.

And was carrying a pretty nice Chinese assault rifle on him, called the Xuanlong. This one was like new, pristine condition, and came with a number of modified features too, including a higher magazine capacity. It's definitely better than my current model. I've since started using this one instead of my old assault rifle too, and I'm going to sell the other once I get back to civilization.

Continuing west, we found not much of note. A ruined house inhabited by raiders and full of landmines was one discovery, and a tunnel inhabited by yao guai was another.

It's the weirdest thing, too. When we went into the tunnels, none of the yao guai were hostile. They mostly ignored us all. They didn't even warn us away from them. I went right up to one and stroked it, and it didn't mind. It even rolled over for me like Dogmeat does when he wants attention.

Charon was frankly stunned. I like these bears.

Today's loot was a _Duck and Cover!_, an early _Grognak the Barbarian _issue, (but like I've already said, I think I have them all by now), a pre-war book, (in fact that same stupid cookbook from before), a Quantum, and most notably, another new bobblehead. My collection is almost complete.

I've marked the house and the tunnels on the map, and we'll be staying here with the yao guai tonight.

Also, is it me, or have the last four days been really uneventful compared to just about everything until now? I feel like I'm way overdue for something zany and wacky to happen. Or at least something with high stakes.

**Day 61: Something Zany This Way Comes...**

Mothercunting shit fuck piece of-

Okay. Calm.

_Calm_.

Breathe.

Dad is inside a simulator.

We found Vault 112 surprisingly easily. It was the first location we came across, actually. Or more accurately, we found the garage it was hidden under. Place was full of molerats. Vault entrance was in the basement. Vault itself appears to be ran by robobrains, and is the first one I've come across aside from my home vault that's still active. The only residents appear to be the dozen or so that I've found plugged into simulation pods. Dad's in one of the pods too.

I have no idea what's going on, but if he's in that simulation, I need to go in too.

Charon's standing guard for me with Dogmeat. He'll make sure nothing bad goes down. I've tasked him with explaining things to my father if he exits the simulation before I do. I think he's been in it for several days, so it may be a really long one.

Wish me luck, diary. I'm going in.

**Day 62: Rather Sad, Actually.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**[Whirring machinery.][Coughing.][Thumping.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **...I don't want... to set... the world... on... fire... I... just want to start...a flame in your h-h-heaaaaaart... **[Loud crying.]** Oh God, why does life suck so hard?!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Woah, there. Are you okay?

**Lone Wanderer: [Sniffling.] **I think I need a hug, Charon.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Really?

**Man 8: **Here, let me help you up.

**Lone Wanderer: [Loud crying.]**

**Man 8: **Ow! Son, I can't breathe! When did you get so strong?

**Lone Wanderer: [Loud crying.]** Since being left out in the wastelaaaaaaaand!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **I feel like I'm intruding on a personal moment here...

**Man 8: **Yes...**[Gasping for breath.]** Forgive me, but who are you?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Charon. Personal bodyguard to the Lone Wanderer. And you must be James.

**James: **Well, yes. **[Gasping for breath.]** Please, son, can you just...**[Inhaling deeply.]** That's better. Now, did you say...Lone Wanderer? Do you mean T-

**Lone Wanderer: **Yes...He means me...

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Actually, can you please tell me what his real name is? I've been travelling with him for weeks now and I still don't know it.

**Lone Wanderer: **You won't tell me yours. Fair's fair.

**James: **I'm staying well out of this argument... But... Son, you've saved me. I thought I was going to be trapped in there forever! It's so good to see you, but... but... what are you DOING here?!

**Lone Wanderer: [Loud crying.]** Working out my abandonment issues!

**James: **I'm... I'm so sorry... I didn't-

**Lone Wanderer: [Loud crying.]** Vault 101 had a civil war, and...and...Jonas was killed...and I killed the Overseer-

**James: **You-!

**Lone Wanderer: **And a whole bunch of other people...And then I left the vault...and then I killed Moriarty...and then I went to Galaxy News...and then I fought a giant super mutant...and then there were ghouls...and then I met Charon...and then there was loads of fighting...and I wiped out Paradise Falls...and I wiped out Arefu...and I wiped out the Brotherhood Outcasts...and I've got mercenaries from Talon Company hunting me down...and I was abducted by aliens...and I went in another simulation...and I went to war...and I got mutated...and I got cybernetic implants...and I killed a friend by crushing her with a hug...and I found a knife named Stabhappy...and I murdered a whole bunch of people...and I cut some guy into pieces and cooked him to feed to my dog...and I had a fight with an android...and I...OH GOD WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY LIFE?!

**James: **It's okay, son! It's okay! Please, breathe. Breathe deeply. Calm down. I'm here now. Start again. What happened in Vault 101?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Oh, this ought to be good...

**Lone Wanderer: [Sobbing.] **Give me your Pipboy... I'll show you my diaries... I recorded everything...

**Day 63: Talking.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**James: **Son.

**Lone Wanderer: [Groggily.] **Hmm?

**James: **Look, I know you're upset. You've been through more in these past two months than I did during most of my life in the wastes. I never wanted to expose you to this kind of life. I thought the vault would be the best place for you.

**Lone Wanderer: **...And it was...

**James: **This is my fault. I acknowledge that. And, for that reason I think I also share some of the blame for... what you've become. But, I want you to know that, despite everything, I still love you. You've done some terrible things, but you've also done a lot of good. And you've helped people. And I'm proud of you for that.

**Lone Wanderer: **...Thanks, dad...

**James: **It will all be better from now on. I promise. No more suffering.

**Lone Wanderer: **Maybe. Perhaps things really might get better. I don't know if I could ever adjust to a calmer life though. I've become so used to the killing, what if I can't live without-

**James: **You can. And you will. Because you'll have me there to support you. I won't abandon you again.

**Lone Wanderer: **...Dad, I- **[Hurried footsteps.]**

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Hey, you two! We've got a problem upstairs! We've been hanging around this garage too long, and it's attracted some attention!

**Day 63 Part 2: Fighting.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Alright you fucking bastards, what do you all want?!

**Man 9: [Electronic voice.] **We're here representing the last contingency of the Brotherhood Outcasts! On behalf of all our fallen brothers and sisters of steel, we're here to bring you to justice!

**Man 10: **NO! The Lone Wanderer is a Talon Company contract! He's OURS. So BACK OFF you power armour-wearing rejects!

**Woman 2: **PARADISE FALLS suffered the worst thanks to this bastard! He should be OUR kill!

**Man 11: **Yeah! You! You fucking asshole! You killed all my friends, and my only family when you raided us!

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Shove it up your ass, slaver cunt.

**Man 11: **THAT'S IT! **[Gun cocks.] **YOU'RE- **[Several other guns cock.][Several Miniguns whirring.][Flamer primes.][Plasma rifle primes.]**

**Man 12: [Electronic voice.] **Pull that trigger and you die, idiot local.

**Woman 2: **HA! Think you can take all of us, Outcast?! There's only six of you, and nine of us! And WE'VE got the Fat Man!

**Man 10: **Hey, in case you've forgotten, we've got a Fat Man too. And my boy Tyson here won't hesitate to fire! Ain't that right?!

**Tyson: **Locked and fucking loaded, boss.

**Man 11: **Jenny?!

**Jenny: **We're not scared of you! You don't even have power armour! At least the red rejects got that goin' for them!

**Man 10: **Clearly you don't know who you're dealing with! Talon Company regularly deal with super mutants! You are NOTHING.

**Jenny: **We're the Paradise Falls slavers! I've probably sold _at least _two of your friends and family to the Pitt this month alone!

**Man 9: [Electronic voice.] **Don't forget who has the superior equipment here. The Outcasts can outlast all of you.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Talking of superior equipment, I'm still here. **[Shuffling.]** Are you people serious? You're fighting over who gets to kill me? Implying one group of you on your own stands ANY kind of chance at all! You're pathetic! You're roaches! I have slaughtered so many countless Outcasts, slavers, raiders, super mutants, ghouls, and even fucking little green aliens from outer space that you can't even COMPARE to what destruction I can bring! I don't even need my guns! All I need, is THIS FUCKING KNIFE! **[Crowd of footsteps.][Crowd mumbling.]** Oh yeah, you little bitches are scared now, aren't you?!

**James: **Son, are you sure this is the best-

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Not now, dad. I'm playing with the other kids.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Boss, I really think you're in over your head here...

**Jenny: **You want a knife fight?! We can HAVE a knife- **[Slashing.][Gurgling.][Thumping.]**

**[Awkward silence.]**

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **...You really have no idea what you're fucking with here, do you?

**Man 10: **TYSON!

**Man 12: [Electronic voice.] **HEAVY TROOPS IN FRONT! KILL EVERYONE!

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **IS IT CHRISTMAS ALREADY?! **[Plasma rifle priming.]**

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **I fucking knew it...**[Shotgun cocking.] **

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH, I WILL FEAR NO EVIL, FOR YOU ARE WITH ME! **[Plasma rifle firing.][Shotgun firing.][Screaming.][Maniacal laughter.] **ON YOUR KNEES, CAPITAL WASTELAND! THE MESSIAH IS HERE!


	10. Week Ten

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Ten**

**Day 64: Too Many Tyrants.**

Tenpenny Tower.

It's surreal being here again. Last time I was here, it was to kill the guy in charge of the place for Megaton. Now we've arrived again, and it all seems the same. And I think I was right about my guess. The security chief is calling all the shots now. He's running the tower in place of Tenpenny.

And the "no ghouls" rule has only gotten stricter. Charon was wearing power armour, so I was able to sneak him in. As long as he shuts up when others are around, nobody ever notices that he's got a voice like the inside of his throat is lined with sandpaper, and we don't get any trouble.

Dad wants to get back to Project Purity to continue the work. After all, the whole reason he and subsequently I went through the hell that was the simulation in Vault 112, was so that he could get information about the G.E.C.K. units, which he has now, and which he wants to present to Dr. Li to get her back on board with the project.

He was very insistent that we return to Rivet City immediately, but I convinced him to come with me to help sort things out here first. I've been meaning to fix this place for a while, and I'm still not entirely sure how.

Luckily for me though, dad happened to know a bit about the surrounding area. He's lived in the wasteland before after all, so he had heard of Rockopolis, which lest we forget, is the place where Dashwood last saw Argyl alive. And after reading my journal entries, he knew that I was supposed to look for him there if I ever find it.

So we went there together and searched the place. Sadly, Argyl was dead. Dashwood was less than happy to hear that, but he was grateful to me for having found him at all, for closure's sake at least. As a way of saying thanks, he's letting us stay in his room again, and gave me a key to his safe where he keeps his adventuring supplies, and says I can have it all. It contains, among other things, a mini nuke and some bottlecap mine schematics.

I also picked up a bobblehead dedicated to boxing, which I found in Rockopolis.

That wasn't all that happened today either. While heading south from Rockopolis, we came across a small settlement. Very small. As in, "only two residents" small. One is a woman who's some kind of obsessed addict who wanted me to go get her a shitload of Nuka-Cola Quantum, while the other is some creepy guy who hangs around and protects her because he wants to get in her pants one day, despite the fact that she's completely oblivious to all his advances.

I don't want to encourage her habit, but she's the only other person I've came across in the wasteland who actually likes Quantum as a _drink_. And I have a machine full of the stuff back in Megaton. So if she wants me to being her a few bottles, I don't see why I shouldn't. It's not like I'm in short supply of the stuff if I need to make more grenades in the near future. If anything, I appreciate the opportunity to dump some of it off onto someone else.

So I've given her the two bottles I've found since I left Megaton, with the promise of a further twenty three from my supply next time I pass through.

And the creepy guy? He was the guy who Grady from Marigold Metro Station in Grayditch was supposed to deliver the "package" I found to. Yep. This small settlement was the Girdershade I was looking for. I had been carrying around that nightwear for weeks in case I stumbled across this place. I'm glad to finally see the back of the thing.

Three guesses who he wanted the nightwear for, but I'm just astounded that so much effort was gone to, by multiple factions, including me, for the sake of this thing. Christ, people! It's nightwear! I don't know what that guy Ronald was thinking with this. People have _died _because this prick wanted kinky sex with a cola addict!

He isn't quite deserving of my brand of justice just yet, but he's on the preliminary list.

We passed by a few other landmarks on the way here, but we didn't get to explore any of them, aside from an open campground where we were ambushed by deathclaws.

There was coincidentally another set of schematics there too, these ones for the deathclaw gauntlet again. And a copy of _Duck and Cover!_, which I wanted to sell like all the other duplicate books I've collected, but dad took it for some light reading. I was able to sell the copy of _Tumblers Today _that I found in the garage though.

I've added most of the landmarks we've passed to the map, as usual. That includes Smith Casey's garage where Vault 112 was hidden, Girdershade, the campground, the Warrington trainyard, and the Dunwich building, which I really need to explore some time, because Ronald tried to warn me away from it, and that just makes me want to see what's in there.

I didn't mark Rockopolis on the map though. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit this, but I didn't mark it when I immediately arrived, and after we left I forgot where it was. Though it shouldn't be too hard to find again, because there was a hilariously out-of-place fridge full of water right by the entrance, and a bunch of wastelanders fighting a massive fuck-off radscorpion.

Though to be fair, it's now more a hilariously out-of-place empty fridge surrounded by the bodies of several wastelanders and a massive fuck-off radscorpion that's had its poison glands removed. Tragedy in some respects, hilarious than others. It's juxtaposition at its finest. A modern art piece. I call it "Tragilarity".

Needless to say though, it's been an eventful day. Dad hasn't really said much so far. We have personal moments where we talk about our issues and reminisce together, but he hasn't really commented much on my methods of dealing with people. When I agreed to get Sierra her Quantums, he said nothing.

And he had equally little to share on the subject of how I dealt with the combined Talon/Outcast/slaver ambush. Though, I think it scared him a little bit. He's clearly more of a talker and a negotiator than he is a warrior. I'm okay at that, but it's not really my preferred style. And I was never really gifted with a silver tongue like dad was. I could never have a voice that smooth and calming. How does he do that?

Well...I don't know. All I know is, tomorrow I need to put an end to this ghoul prejudice, once and for all. I need to work out a plan of action. I have an idea, but I don't think dad will like it much.

But we'll see.

**Day 65: Recruitment Drive.**

I've been working out the plan all day, and I'm making frightful headway. So much so, we can expect my plan to come to fruition tomorrow.

Dad was of course disappointed that it was going to have to come to this. He wants to try and talk the whole issue out. Try to convince Gustavo to let the ghouls live here. Thing is, while he may have allowed that if Tenpenny had given the order, Gustavo is the one in charge now, because I killed Tenpenny. So the negotiation angle is out.

But, Roy Phillips' alternative when I talked with him in in the Warrington station was to open a door in the tower, and let loose a whole bunch of ferals to massacre everyone. And there are people I like in the tower. So that's not happening either.

So, what did I come up with instead?

Revolution.

My job today was going to all the residents and convincing them to either fuck off somewhere else, or agree to help in overthrowing the security force. Or at the very least, staying the hell out of our way while we do it. I don't want to have to kill all these people when the fight breaks out. As it stands, I already need to kill all the security guards in the tower, because there is no question as to their loyalty to Gustavo.

I suppose I _could _just kill Gustavo stealthily, and get him out of the picture, but I don't think it will work. This whole plan of getting the ghouls into the tower through negotiation requires that whoever runs the place be someone who is ghoul friendly, like Dashwood. However, I don't think he's the next in line to inherit Tenpenny Tower.

Tenpenny himself was the original owner. Then I killed him. So who takes over once Tenpenny is dead? Burke would be the natural choice, but he was already dead by the time I got to Tenpenny. So who was the next leader?

Gustavo. Exactly. When the original owner and his assistant are gone, it's the security team that takes over the tower. It's only natural, after all. The other residents were Tenpenny's _customers_, while the security were his _employees_. Gustavo taking over the tower could almost be analogous to a promotion.

However, it also opens up a whole new can of worms, that being that from now on, it'll always be the head of security that calls the shots. So if I kill Gustavo and Gustavo alone, whoever his second-in-command is, they'll be the one to take over next, not the residents.

And being so loyal to him, I can safely assume that the majority of Tenpenny security probably share their boss's opinion of ghouls.

So, fuck it. I don't have the patience to keep killing subsequent security chiefs until we get one who will allow the ghouls into the tower. Even if we do get lucky and have a security chief who is pro-ghoul in less than three assassinations, he'll probably still be extremely pissed that so many of his colleagues have been killed, and so will be unlikely to do myself or the ghouls any favours.

And that's not even accounting for the fact that there is no way in hell I can get away with that many covert murders in quick succession. Frankly I'm stunned that no-one seems to have picked up that it was me who killed Tenpenny.

So, we're all getting prepared for tomorrow.

Dashwood's in, of course. His final adventure, you could say. He'll be directly assisting in the revolution, as will Dr. Banfield, providing medical support for my revolutionaries in exchange for large amounts of caps, and Tenpenny Tower's resident water beggar, Willy, who I have armed with combat armour, two assault rifles and a sledgehammer from Gustavo's own armoury, and promised a residency in the tower and all the fresh water he can drink if he assists us.

Given that Willy absolutely despises the people of Tenpenny Tower, it was equivalent to telling a child, "Okay, you can stay up late and skip classes tomorrow, but only if you eat all this candy for me first."

Mr. Wellington and Susan Lancaster are sadly both dead, their lives taken by Mrs. Wellington in vengeance for an affair they were engaging in. Lydia Montenegro, Anthony Ling and Mrs. Wellington have all left the tower altogether, the former two because they wouldn't accept living with ghouls, and the latter because she might be in a bit of trouble with security herself, what with having murdered two people.

Michael Hawthorne, Margaret Primrose, and Mr. and Mrs. Cheng have a mixture of opinions on the ghoul situation, but have all basically agreed to stay well out of the way when we make our move, barricading themselves inside their respective rooms.

And as for the rest of the residents? I have no clue what to do about them. A large number of them I haven't spoken two words to either time I've visited here, so I hardly have the time to get their names, ask them their opinions on ghouls and either warn them to stay in their rooms or else talk or blackmail them into leaving.

There simply isn't the time, and the more people I let in on the plan, the greater risk we have of security finding out what we plan to do ahead of time. All I can do is hope they're not stupid enough to run in front of gunfire, or try to attack the heavily armoured invaders when they storm the gates.

Dad's making his disapproval known, but there literally is no other way to get the ghouls the fair treatment they deserve short of slaughtering everyone. I can either get the residents on my side or away from the tower depending on their affiliation and just kill the guards, or I can kill _everyone_. There's really not much room for choice here. I'm just trying to do the moral thing.

...He says after inadvertently causing a woman to murder her husband and his mistress...

Whatever though. We can pull this off.

Dashwood, Banfield, Willy, Charon, Dogmeat, Roy Phillips, and his right hand man, Michael Masters. Between them and myself, we have assembled an elite team capable of taking on any challenge.

Tomorrow is Security Chief Gustavo's last day on Earth.

**Day 66: Storm the Gates.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Hey! It's me. Open up this gate.

**Man 13: [Through intercom.] **Yeah, hold on...**[Mechanical gate opens.] **...Woah! Hang on a second! You didn't say anything about bringing in any new friends! We were already really pushing it when we let you bring in two extra guys and a dog! And now you're bringing GHOULS here too?!

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot because I don't give a fuck. Willy?

**Willy: **Yah?

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Headshots, if you please. **[Assault rifles firing.]** **[Collapsing.] **That's some fine shootin' there, Will.

**Man 14: **WE'VE GOT HOSTILES!

**Man 15: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **CHARGE! **[Various gunfire.][Screaming in background.][Dog growling in background.]**

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **I WANT TO SEE DEATH! LET THERE BE RIVERS OF BLOOD! KILL, MAIM AND SLAUGHTER THEM ALL!

**Day 66 Part 2: Security Chief Gustavo, and Other Massive Cunts.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **We all clear here?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **No more by the looks of it, boss.

**Dogmeat: [Barking.]**

**Willy: **Area is secure, SIR!

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Anyone in need of medical attention?

**Man 16: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **I'm in a pretty bad way over here...

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Doctor Banfield, help Michael.

**Doctor Banfield: **Alright. Give me just a moment...

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Has anyone seen Security Chief Gustavo yet?

**Man 17: **Oh my...

**Man 15: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **I think we found him...

**Dogmeat: [Barking.]**

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Is that a fucking rocket launch- **[Loud explosion.][Screaming.] **OH, YOU CHEATING BASTARD!

**Day 66 Part 3: Wanderer Tower is Open For Business.**

Kay.

Death toll time. Recording this for prosperity.

We have killed..._all _the security guards, if I am not mistaken...and Gustavo...and...four unidentified Tenpenny residents who were too dumb to know that bullets are not drugs and you cannot get high by jumping in front of them.

And on our side we have lost Banfield, due to RPG fire. He will be somewhat missed.

Who cares though? The tower is won.

VIVA LA REVOLUTION!

**Day 67: On Audio Recordings.**

Sometimes I just like to set the machine to record and transcribe at random points in the day. Usually, I have to delete it all and just toss the whole thing out because it's just a recording of me bitching for twelve hours.

Sometimes though, you get those real magical moments on tape, where all you have to do is listen to it, and you can tell exactly what went down. Well, assuming you've been reading my journals anyway, which to my knowledge no-one has, aside from me and dad, and even he hasn't seen the most recent ones.

I just love recordings like that, because you can stick them and the transcripts on the Pipboy, and it just conveys so much of the strangeness that is my life that a journal entry that day is entirely unnecessary. And I love it when that happens, because the Pipboy keyboard is tiny, and getting features like italics to work on this thing is a son of a bitch.

Me and the Pipboy's user interface long ago accepted that we will never get along. We're just doing this dance because we have to.

Anyway, speaking of recordings, here's a great one:

**Day 67 Part 2: More Talking With Dad.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**[Footsteps.]**

**James: **Son, I know you were only doing what you thought was best-

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Damn right.

**James: **But if you really are feeling as guilty as you say over everything you've done...Maybe you should think about the idea that more violence may not be the answer?

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **I don't feel guilty for the killings. What I feel guilty for, is killing people who _didn't _deserve it. Gustavo was a tyrant who was oppressing innocents, like Tenpenny before him. I fixed the problem.

**James: **And you got _other _innocents killed. They didn't deserve it.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Perhaps not, but I still have no sympathy for people who get killed by their own stupidity, and that's exactly what happened to them. The guards were there to protect the residents, and invaders or not, _we _sure as shit were not aiming for them. They got killed because they were panicky and stupid, and they ran out into a warzone when they could have just cowered in their rooms and been ignored by both sides.

**James: **What about that doctor? The one killed by the rocket.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Banfield was doing it for the caps. He knew exactly what he was getting into.

**James: **What if that had been me, then?

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **But it wasn't you. Because I didn't let you come. Remember?

**James: **...Son...

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Look, you're pretty much the most important thing in the world to me. There can never exist a what-if scenario that would place you in danger, because I would never allow it.

**James: **...You seem very confident when you say that.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Dad. You've read my diaries. Be honest with me. Did you see anything in there at any point, that suggested I had a reason to not be confident in my abilities?

**James: **Admittedly, no.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **No. That's right.

**James: **But I saw a lot of other reasons to be concerned for you. This wasteland...It's changed you. You're not the boy I raised anymore. You've had to adapt to survive. I don't blame you for it, and I don't think any less of you either. But you've been playing fast and loose with your morals, and even if you can't see it, I can tell it's cutting you deep.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **You're telling me...

**James: **That entry about the slaver struck me most. What was her name? Somah?

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **...Yes.

**James: **She obviously meant a great deal to you.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **I wouldn't say a _great _deal. I definitely felt more for her than most though.

**James: **Felt more as in...?

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **No. It was entirely platonic. It's just that...Well, you know what happened. Zeta. Going through that kind of trial with someone will definitely bring you closer to them.

**James: **I still can't believe you really met aliens...

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Maybe I'll show you the ship one day, when this Project Purity thing is finished...

**James: **I don't suppose your Mothership Zeta has a G.E.C.K. anywhere on board?

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Rather doubt it.

**James: **Oh well...

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Might still be worth a look. I'll check for you next time I'm there.

**James: **I can't believe we're so close to completing it. My life's work, you know.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **This has been a long term project for you, hasn't it?

**James: **Oh yes, it has. This place needs it. The Capital Wasteland is in such a state. Compared to some of the places west of here...

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **West?

**James: **The west coast. Post-apocalyptic civilization over there is thriving compared to D.C.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **You've seen the west coast?

**James: **Heard of it. Seen very little. I have been west, but not quite that far. Trust me when I tell you though, the Capital Wasteland has it worse than most.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **What's it like out west?

**James: **Depends how far west you mean. Some places are prosperous and wealthy, almost on par with pre-war society, perhaps even surpassing it. Other places house only tribals and mutants; people who forgot their culture, and their origins, and made entire religious orders out of worshipping old technology. Some places are as irradiated and uninhabitable as the deepest craters of D.C., yet others were almost untouched by the Great War, letting their native people live easy.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **...That sounds amazing.

**James: **There's even an almost fully developed nation far west, called the New California Republic. I'd hear a lot about them from the Brotherhood of Steel. Never went there myself. Always wanted to.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **...I'm going to go there one day.

**James: **Really now?

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Yeah. Probably not anytime soon. I still have to fix this place. But hey, I have a spaceship. With teleporters. It's always possible, right?

**James: **I never thought of that.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **Who knows what we'll find out that way?

**James: **Indeed...

**Day 67 Part 3: In Conclusion.**

They say a voice recording is worth exactly however many words it consists of. That's a lot, and those are all words I don't have to type. And I would have to type them, because that was a great conversation.

In the vault, we talked about daily events, about people, about our interests. Out here, and with all these secrets out in the open, conversation with dad suddenly got ten times more interesting. So many stories about the wasteland. About faraway places, and people, and customs, and technology, and just life out here in general.

I will always miss the standard of living I enjoyed in Vault 101, but nothing will ever make me regret leaving it. The wasteland is a cruel mistress, but it brings with it great adventure, great fortune, a true connection to my father, that was always hampered by the need to hide the truth from me, and most importantly of all, all those squishy little people crawling over it like so many ants, and at least sixty percent of them with exposed necks.

I only just realised my murder boner is acting up again. We didn't come across any raiders all day during the walk from the tower to the memorial.

Hmm. Dad's hunkering down here for tonight, but it's still early yet. I probably have time to slip on the stealth suit and run over to Rivet City to gut that Tammy Hargrave bitch. Would definitely be useful to be able to come into the city tomorrow with an alibi and find a murder committed in my absence. If anyone's discovered what happened to Seagrave yet, it could also serve to deflect suspicions away from me and onto a phantom serial killer.

You know what? That plan's perfect. I'm totally doing that.

**Day 67 Part 4: So Guess Who I Orphaned Today?**

It's okay. No need to thank me. Just doing my job.

**Day 68: Dicking Around.**

Dr. Li returned to the Jefferson memorial to continue the work with dad. Dad wants my help setting up there too, so I told him I'll stop by tomorrow to assist with some things. For the moment, I had a few other things around to deal with. For instance, I was invited to a wedding.

Yeah, I wasn't expecting it either, but the Staley girl didn't just manage to get Diego into bed, she got him to _marry _her. Those ant queen pheromones must be incredible! I feel kind of stupid for having just purchased them from the drugstore and given them away now. I should have kept them for myself. If they're just as effective on females, then I can imagine so many creative scenarios that could result from that.

Come to think of it, I seem to recall killing a couple of ant queens during my adventures. One in that Marigold station where Lesko was experimenting, and one in the Corvega factory.

Hmm...

It was a beautiful wedding though. I am glad those two found happiness. This wasteland isn't all doom and gloom, and there are some instances where everything doesn't end in tragedy. My faith in the human race is affirmed.

There wasn't much time in the day after that. Certainly not enough to help dad at Project Purity. But I did stop by the memorial to say hello late in the evening, because I looked at my map and realised that we had passed several major landmarks on the way to Rivet City yesterday and not even noticed. So I went to check them out.

I only actually checked out one of them though. That was the Arlington Library. Inside, I found a bunch of those Brotherhood of Steel types. Most were the typical power armoured soldiers, but the one in charge appeared to be a woman in red robes. She's a scribe. Basically the Brotherhood of Steel's tech people.

They'd came to the library hoping to find surviving pre-war books so that they could archive them. Preserving the knowledge of the past for the benefit of the future. I really felt a kindred spirit in this woman, for I too have been dragging pre-war books out of the ruins for months, even knowing that they held nothing interesting to me, just so that I could save them from being reclaimed by the elements and their contents being lost to time.

Naturally, after clearing out the library of raiders for her, I helped scour the place and get her what she wanted. I presented her with I believe fourteen books from in and around the library, including one I found in a preservation shelter outside. Out of the fourteen, six were from the usual lineup. A _Tumblers Today_, a _Big Book of Science_, a _Lying, Congressional Style_, a _Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor_, and two _Guns and Bullets_.

I lamented my bad fortune to keep finding these same books over and over again. Interesting as they were to read the first time, I kept hoping to find something new that didn't suck. It was then that the scribe pointed out something obvious that I had been missing.

All the books I've been continuously finding over the place had the same kind of special plastic wrapping. Most of the other books I've been coming across survived just by luck.

It's so obvious in retrospect that I feel like a fool for not noticing it. These books, while made by different publishers, all came with the same wrapping and cover that gave them the extra durability to survive two hundred years of radiation and awful weather rather than rotting away or burning like most others.

It's a bit like how there were all kinds of foodstuffs before the Great War, but the only ones we have now are the brands that were packed with enough preservatives to make them last.

The Brotherhood were thankful for my help though. I'm glad to see that I'm getting on their good side. They seem like pretty good people, as opposed to the Outcasts. Maybe one day I can call in some favours from them. Until that time though, the Brotherhood will be staying at the library for a bit to search through all the ruined books for anything that could be salvaged, and I've promised to stop by if I find any more pre-war books they might be interested in saving.

I've marked the library on the map with intention to return there soon and continue exploring the area. Maybe tomorrow after I'm done with Purity.

For now, I'm returning to Rivet City for a good night's sleep.

**Day 68 Part 2: Oh fuck, what have I done now?**

Shit.

Okay, so I was thinking, since Dr. Li already left for Purity, then surely her living quarters were uninhabited, right? That meant I could break in there and stay in the city without having to pay for a night at Vera's hotel again. I could just have easily decided on Seagrave's room instead, but on a whim I decided to try Dr. Li's.

And then just when I got there, as I turned the corner, the door opened and out strolled that little girl C.J. Young. And inside on the bed, apparently asleep, was Bannon.

You can probably guess what they were both doing in that room, and I could too. I don't know if pedophilia is an accepted practice in the Capital Wasteland, but so far I've observed that vault society and wasteland society have pretty much the same taboos. So I felt pretty justified in shooting Bannon in the head with Blackhawk.

Problem is, C.J. heard the shot, and went running to get security. I heard them running my way. No time to slip into the stealth armour or activate a stealth boy, all I could do was slam the door shut and hold it shut. And now I'm trapped in here with a whole squad of Rivet City security on the other side of that door who all want in.

No-one saw my face or heard my voice yet, but this is still a pretty desperate situation.

What the fuck am I going to do?

**Day 69: Detective Skills.**

The solution was explosives.

Not proud of it, but that's what I did. I laid mines over the entire room, gave myself a shot of Med-X so that I'd have an easier time of surviving the explosion, slipped into Chinese stealth armour, and then I stopped holding the door.

By that point the guards were cutting their way through with a welding torch anyway. I got into the furthest corner of the room and let them charge in while I was invisible. The security guards blundered into the minefield, blew their legs off, most of them probably died, and I escaped while they were all screaming in agony or running around in a panic yelling to fetch medical help.

I escaped the city and made a run for Project Purity instead, and that's where I spent the night.

Today, dad wanted me to begin helping them out, but I had to return to Rivet City to see the damage I caused, and it wasn't pretty. Harkness was really pissed off, and enlisted my help in tracking down the elusive serial killer behind the deaths of Bannon, Seagrave Holmes and Tammy Hargrave.

Being part of my own investigation team, I was in the perfect position to cover my tracks and direct the trail away from me. And I did it perfectly, too.

Me and Harkness walked together across the bridge outside of Rivet City, going down to the caravan traders because I spotted Lucky Harith, and he owed me some caps still. But then we stopped to talk to the water beggar, Carlos, because I wanted to say hello. And also because I wanted to give him a pair of stealth boys that I found in in Arlington Library the previous day, along with the usual bottle of water.

When we left, Harkness asked why I'd given him that. I said because Carlos had asked me to provide him with any stealth boys I found, because he used them to hide from super mutants when he went scavenging in the D.C. ruins for water.

Of course, old Harkness knew with his superior android logic processing that there were dramatically less super mutants in D.C. as of late thanks mostly to my work, that Carlos never actually left that spot by the bridge for fear of missing opportunities to beg for water, and that the mysterious serial killer had the ability to turn himself invisible.

Carlos has now been executed, and as long as I stop murdering people in Rivet City, it looks like I'm off the hook.

I wish there were another way this could have ended, but there really wasn't one.

I'm so going to Hell.

**Day 69 Part 2: Forgetting the Past.**

Since Harkness killed Carlos, I've spent the day continuing my exploration of the area around southwest D.C.

For a start, I went north up the river to check out the Citadel, where the Brotherhood of Steel make their base. I tried to get in, but they said that they couldn't allow it. And, for once, I decided to respect their authority in this situation. The Outcasts, I just broke into their base and rampaged through because I wanted what was inside. But I actually respect the Brotherhood. So I decided to leave well enough alone.

Then I went back to the library and looked around a ruined building near it called the Alexandria Arms, from which I looted some things. Three pre-war books, including a _Guns and Bullets _and a _Duck and Cover!_, plus a Nuka-Cola Quantum. I may have also forgotten to mention an additional Quantum I picked up at the library the previous day.

I returned to the library and sold the books, marked the Arms on the map, and then after that decided to head back to Purity again.

It's beginning to feel like I'm running out of steam. Times were that I'd have also had time to raid the Nuka-Cola plant that my map says is nearby, but today I just felt exhausted and needed to go to bed.

Maybe I just need a break from all this heavy stuff. Tomorrow will help with that. Just a relaxing day of helping dad fix Project Purity.

**Day 70: A Call to Adventure.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Man 18: [Through radio.] **This message repeats. To anyone who can hear me, my name is Wernher. I come from a settlement to the north. I have information of great value, to anyone willing to help me free my people. Please, help us. This message repeats. To anyone who can hear me, my name is Wernher. I come from a settlement to the north. I have information of great value, to anyone willing to help me free my people. Please, help us. This message repeats. To anyone who can hear me, my name is Wernher. I come from- **[Pipboy beeping.]**

**James: **...I...see...

**Lone Wanderer: **Sorry, dad. I know, I should stay to help you. Lord knows you could use it. But there might be people in need of my help out there, and I can't just refuse a call for help. Someone else might get it, but...I've seen the rest of the wasteland. And I've seen its people. I'm probably this man's best hope. Duty calls, you know?

**James: **I understand, son. This wasteland needs you, I think. Go on then. Go help this man free his people. There's probably not much time to spare.

**Lone Wanderer: **I'll be back before you know it. Come on, Charon. Dogmeat.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Ugh. I was just getting comfortable here.

**Dogmeat: [Barking.]**


	11. Week Eleven

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Eleven**

**Day 71: We've Been Walking.**

Yesterday's entry was recorded in the early morning after I left Rivet City. From the Jefferson memorial, I later went to Megaton, where I sold all my remaining surplus equipment and put the two bobbleheads I was carrying on the stand. From there, I moved up to Big Town, where I stayed with Red for the night.

I spoke to Moira as well, who gave me my next task for the Wasteland Survival Guide. It was something to do with robots, and I was required to go to the RobCo building near Tenpenny Tower. I told her however that I was an expert on robotics, so I could write it myself. I'm going to be working on that in whatever free time I get until I next see her.

That was yesterday, anyway. Today, I went from Big Town all the way up to the radio tower in the north where Wernher was broadcasting from. I found him under attack by raiders. Not just any raiders though. These were Pitt raiders. Basically, they're the guys who run the Pitt, which is what post-apocalyptic Pittsburgh is now named. Why they're generally considered raiders rather than slavers, I have no idea.

He explained the deal with the Pitt. The place is ran by some tyrannical despot, everyone there that aren't raiders are slaves, they're all dying of some kind of special form of radiation sickness, the raiders have a cure, but they aren't forking it over, so I have to go down there and restore the natural order by putting these scumbags in their place. Pretty simple stuff. Nothing out of the ordinary for me.

What is new is the method of doing all this. I found a whole bunch of slavers and killed them, and freed their captives. One of them that was already dead, I took a slave outfit off of. Wernher wants me to pretend to be a slave and join them in starting the revolution from inside.

This means that I can't take too much gear with me, because for the most part I'm going to be forcing Charon to carry it all for me. Now, Charon's pretty damn strong, but I can't expect him to carry my power armour, the Chinese stealth suit, all my weapons, all my ammunition, and my medical supplies too. That simply isn't fair.

The solution was of course my alien spaceship. I dropped by there again and left a backpack full of my stuff with Elliot, which included the power armour. While there, I also instructed him to look around the ship to see if he could find a G.E.C.K. for dad's project.

Charon will carry the Chinese stealth armour, Blackhawk, Stabhappy, the deathclaw gauntlet, and the sniper rifle with him in his own backpack, along with a few stimpaks and one or two syringes of Med-X. Those will be my emergency supplies. I meanwhile will be going with nothing but a concealed blade and the slave's rags.

I'll be largely on my own in there, and I'll have to scrounge around to find some better armour or weapons to get me by. But when it comes time for the big fight, if I haven't found any decent replacement equipment to get me by, I'll just reunite with Charon. I shouldn't need anything more than the emergency supplies to overthrow this city. If I took on the Outcasts with nothing but a vault jumpsuit and weapons I stole from raiders, then this is equally plausible.

Right now, we're travelling to the Pitt by rail through some old tunnel. It's going to take a long time to get there, and it's getting late. I may just take a little sleep here.

Tomorrow will be fun.

**Day 72: Son of a Bitch.**

I should learn to shut the fuck up sometimes.

It started well, with killing a bunch of Pitt raiders, surviving the land mines covering the bridge into the Pitt, and convincing the raiders that I was an escaped slave meekly returning. Then I got into the place, and realised that they expected me to do actual work.

I didn't have long before I was expected to go into a place they call the Steelyard to gather steel ingots. I spent all my time before that asking around and getting to know the people I'd be working with.

Among the slaves, there's Adan, who's optimistic for a slave but otherwise un-notable; Midea, the other leader of the revolution alongside Wernher; Milly, a girl I met worried for a friend called Wild Bill who's somewhere in this steelyard and who she wants me to find; Marco, who provided me with a modified steel saw called an auto axe; Brand, who snitches on other slaves and is a good target for me to murder should I feel the need; Nola, who is the worst doctor I've ever met; and Kai, who serves food so disgusting that I can't bring myself to touch it.

That's all I had a chance to do though. I was soon after thrown into this place, and now I'm wandering around, trying to find a substantial supply of these steel ingots to impress the boss.

I did find some better armour though. It's a bit like the metal armour that I sometimes see people wearing in the Capital Wasteland, though this has been designed with enhancements for resisting radiation. Always a plus out here. I've also come across a few guns. Nothing on par with my old gear, but better than nothing. I'm fine for ammunition too, and I found some boxes of medical supplies around the place.

However, the Steelyard is definitely hazardous. The Wildmen in any other circumstance would be my number one concern, being completely crazy yet still able to shoot. In the Pitt though, they're second banana to the trogs, who are feral humans who mutated into a form that makes ghoulification look like something to aspire to.

I was able to find a group of deactivated protectrons that I got up and running to help me with the trogs, but I've still sustained more than a few injuries from these things.

This place has taken a toll. I've been climbing on rooftops, diving into dumpsters and wading into radiation heavy areas to get as many of these bars as I can. I believe I've got thirty six now. I'd leave it at that and go back to hand these in, but I need to find that Wild Bill guy first, late though it may be.

I'm starving here, it's almost night time, and this place is making me even more miserable than usual.

Please, someone save me.

**Day 73: Further Reports.**

It's two in the morning on the twenty eighth of October, the year 2277, and I'm still in this fucking Steelyard.

I can't sleep. Trogs will eat me.

I can't eat. All I've got is Kai's bowls of slop made from trogs, which are disgusting.

I can't return to the slave boss. It's late, and he would have assumed I'm dead and locked the place up for the night now.

And I have no fucking clue what else I can do.

I found Wild Bill though. Dead. He wrote a note in his final moments for Milly, that I plan to bring back to her. Also had a sidearm with him at the time. A Chinese pistol if I'm not mistaken, in remarkably good condition.

I've since continued travelling around the place, going over catwalks, climbing huge metal towers, walking across conveyor belts, and at one point I scaled down a giant pipe. I've got seventy seven of these damn ingots now, and no-one to return them to.

What do I do?

**Day 73 Part 2: The Situation Has Improved.**

I'm still starving to death, but at least I found some shelter.

I'm inside an old supply plant now. I had to kill a whole bunch of trogs and Wildmen to make it safely inhabitable, but all that matters now is that I'm here, I'm safe, and I can sleep.

Though again, still starving.

NO. I WILL NOT EAT THE TROG MEAT SLOP. IT'S STILL GOT BITS OF BONE IN IT.

**Day 73 Part 3: The Situation Has Worsened.**

I can't sleep because my stomach hurts.

I need food. Last time I ate anything was the BlamCo Mac & Cheese that Charon shared with me. That was in the Capital Wasteland at the slaver camp just before we set off here!

I should have had a breakfast yesterday, but I just wasn't hungry at the time. Charon probably still had some spare food for me, but no. I was counting on the Pitt actually having something edible I could scavenge. And I've even found several fridges around here too! They had plenty of water, which is always nice, but water isn't what I fucking need!

Come on! Someone throw me a bone!

**Day 73 Part 4: I have fucking standards.**

Which is why I will not eat the trog slop. And just to affirm that, I threw all the bowls of it outside. I am practically royalty! I will not eat that gunk, no matter how starving I am.

**Day 73 Part 5: I don't have standards.**

I ate one of the Wildmen.

No. I'm not ashamed. He was fucking delicious.

**Day 73 Part 6: So I think I've gone a bit too far this time...**

I woke up around midday today and realised that I ate a man last night.

I blame the Pitt.

I don't even care anymore. This is FAR from the worst thing I've done. You can't judge me, hypothetical reader of my private diary.

But I can't let myself dwell on that for now. Right now, more important things are going on. I've been exploring this plant for an hour now and picking up anything of value I could find. There were a few interesting pieces. Another auto axe like the one I've been using so far to carve up trogs for one, only this one is designed for carving through reinforced armour. And a few flamethrowers for another.

I broke down most of the crappier flamethrowers and used the parts to fix up one of the better ones. I've got a half decent flamer now that should be able to take care of anything else I come across. Since the old auto axe was getting pretty beat up from overuse as well, I also took that apart and used it to replace some parts of the one I found here too.

So I have some pretty decent weapons now. Good enough to destroy the Pitt with? We'll see. But they'll definitely suffice for killing trogs.

Plenty of steel ingots in here too. My most recent count puts me at ninety seven. I think this will be enough to earn me some extra credit.

**Day 73 Part 7: Bad Things Are Happening.**

I handed in the steel ingots to that raider, Everett. Was he _ever _pleased with me.

It turns out that there's some sort of prize system for gathering so many ingots, and since I got one hundred of them, (I found another three on the way back to him), I got all of them.

First there was the labourer outfit, which is basically normal slave dress except more comfortable. Then he gave me a filtration helmet, which is used for protecting against radiation, then some steel knuckles, which are like brass knuckles except steel, then some hideous hybrid of spiked metal armour and some standard raider armour types, and THEN a goddamn modified laser rifle called the Metal Blaster.

OH. But it didn't stop there! TWO more sets of armour, one a raider type, another a unique suit of leather armour once apparently worn by a priest. ANOTHER modified auto axe named the Mauler, which I don't think will be as effective against armour but I cringe at the thought of what it could do to bare flesh. TWO infiltrator assault rifles, one a standard model and one customised. AND A SET OF POWER ARMOUR WITH A SKULL ON THE SHOULDER.

I. AM. A. SLAVE.

WHY. AM. I. BEING. GIVEN. THIS?!

Diary. I think I'm being hit on by a gay raider.

I'm scared.

**Day 73 Part 8: I'm Just Going to Ball Up and Cry.**

Can't sleep.

Raiders will rape me.

**Day 74: New Solutions.**

I slept in the power armour and filtration helmet last night.

Yeah, it was uncomfortable, but it did no end of help for putting my mind at ease. Traditionally, being clad in power armour has meant that nothing could touch me short of a bullet at point blank range, and when the thing I'm worried about is being raped by gay raiders, (or gaiders), a bullet to the face is unlikely to be what is trying to penetrate me.

Still though, I got up surprisingly early today. And even more surprisingly, I haven't been called to work yet. I guess I earned a break for yesterday. Hmm.

I should go give Wild Bill's note to Milly.

**Day 74 Part 2: Reunion.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: **Charon? What are you doing here?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Shh! Do you want me to be found?

**Lone Wanderer: **Sorry.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Over here, come on. **[Footsteps.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **So what's going on?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **It's been several days. I needed to come in and check on you. You doing alright?

**Lone Wanderer: **I ate a man's liver.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Yikes! Did...did the raiders make you do that?

**Lone Wanderer: **No. I was just hungry.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **...You make it so hard for me to be friends with you. I hope you know that.

**Lone Wanderer: **Well, sorry. Next time I'll just starve.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Boss...**[Sighing.] **Nevermind.

**Lone Wanderer: **Please tell me you brought some actual food?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **I got a tin of Pork-

**Lone Wanderer: **Give it here.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Uh...Okay...Here you- WOAH! **[Steel saw cutting metal.] **BOSS! What the fuck is that?!

**Lone Wanderer: **I call it the Man Opener.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Jesus Christ. Where did you get that thing?!

**Lone Wanderer: **The same place I got my last meal. Hold this for me.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Wha-?

**Lone Wanderer: **Mmm. **[Chewing.] **Much better.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **You want me to cook those for you?

**Lone Wanderer: **Fine like this.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **I think the radiation around here is affecting your brain.

**Lone Wanderer: **Probably.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **And what's that you're wearing?

**Lone Wanderer: **Tribal power armour. Originally Brotherhood of Steel far as I can tell. Got damaged. Guy who repaired it added parts to make it look like Ashur's power armour. He's the guy that runs the Pitt. Wears a suit just like this.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Ashur wears power armour?

**Lone Wanderer: **Mmhmm.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Think he's ex-Brotherhood of Steel?

**Lone Wanderer: **Could be. But I really don't care. I'm just here to kill the man and liberate the city. Then we're done here.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **If you say so.

**Lone Wanderer: **Of course I say so.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Boss, _are_ you okay?

**Lone Wanderer: **Not really. No.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **I didn't think so. You're in a bad way right now. Maybe you should just take a break for a few days? I'd be far better to infiltrate the city with all this ambient radiation in the air, and I wouldn't need to worry about-

**Lone Wanderer: **Charon, I took the job, and now I've got to finish it. You can't take my place now. In fact, how did you even get in here without getting enslaved too?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **With this thing.

**Lone Wanderer: **What is that?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **It's called a mesmetron. I picked it up after we took down Paradise Falls. Slavers use this to capture people. A shot of this thing to someone's head and they'll be stuck in a trance where they'll do whatever you say. Slavers shoot their victims with it, put on the collars, and just tell them to follow them back to Paradise Falls. I used this on the guards outside.

**Lone Wanderer: **Damn, Charon. That is an incredibly dangerous piece of tech you've got there.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **I know.

**Lone Wanderer: **Actually though, there is something you can do for me. I want you to take all that extra armour and weaponry from the pile over here, and take it back to the train car for when we leave.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Wh-Where did you get all this...?

**Lone Wanderer: **From a very ugly man who thinks that I'm a very attractive man. **[Awkward silence.] **Just take the damn armour, Charon. I don't have a backpack with me in here and I can't carry all this shit.

**Day 74 Part 3: Pitt Fighter.**

Just got out of multiple rounds in a fighting arena called the hole. Killed a bunch of colourful psychopaths and earned myself a job as a Pitt raider for my trouble.

Am on my way to meet Lord Ashur in the place they call Haven now. Man has an exposed face. I wonder if I should stick a gun in his mouth or stab him in the eye?

And once he's dead, whatever shall I do with the body? I could strip him naked and hang him from a streetlight? Or maybe cut him up into little pieces and run around the city sprinkling bits of him over the raiders like rose petals? I could even roast him on an open fire and eat his legs in front of everyone.

Not that I want to make a habit out of eating people, but the taste isn't so repulsive that I wouldn't be willing to do it again if I had a need to. And I think I'd be willing to eat Lord Ashur just for the sheer spectacle of it.

Oh, I'm overthinking things. This is a debate for later.

My first priority is the cure. Must remember that.

**Day 74 Part 4: MOTHERFUCKER.**

WHY?!

WHY DID THE CURE HAVE TO BE A BABY?!

AND WHY COULDN'T I HAVE LEARNED THIS_ BEFORE _I KILLED HER MOTHER WITH THE MAN OPENER?!

**Day 74 Part 5: I don't even.**

Wernher and Midea knew the cure was a baby the whole time.

I...

No. The diary entries can wait until later. I've got shit to do.

**Day 74 Part 6: I killed them.**

God help me, I killed them all.

There is no more Lord Ashur.

There is no more Wernher.

There is no more Midea.

There are no more Pitt raiders.

There are no more Pitt slaves.

There is no more Pitt.

I killed everyone in the city. Trog, human, slaver, slave, it didn't matter. They all attacked me. They're all dead.

Except the baby.

Marie survived.

This is the worst thing I've ever done.

I'm going home.

**Day 75: Depressed.**

I don't think there's any way that the fiasco at the Pitt could have possibly ended worse.

Does it even need to be said? I am a horrible, horrible person, and I am most certainly going to Hell. Satan has a wooden chair with a nail sticking out of it waiting at his side just for me.

I'm back in the Capital Wasteland now. I'd say I feel better being home, but all being home means is that I can expect the Talon Company ambushes to start occuring again.

And then there's Marie. What the hell am I going to do with her? I couldn't just leave her in the city. Not when everyone there including both her parents were dead. So I had to take her with me. And now I'm carrying her through the Capital Wasteland on my journey.

She's not even a year old.

Oh sweet Jesus, what do I do? I swear, I came to the Pitt with only the best of intentions. I went there because I heard a cry for help and I wanted to answer the call. It wasn't about being a hero or gaining fame and glory. It wasn't about securing a fortune and riches, or valuable weapons and resources. I didn't want to take over the Pitt to build my own land, or bring ruin and destruction to sate my own urges. I just. Wanted. To help.

And now...Now I've killed everyone who wanted my help. I've ruined what could have been a successful new civilization had I sided with the slavers, and destroyed any hope of freedom that there could have been had I helped the slaves.

I tried to kill just those responsible for these atrocities. But everyone takes sides. Slaves wanted revenge for Wernher. Raiders the same for Ashur. I couldn't die. Not when I was still protecting the baby. If Marie had been far away and safe though, I would have gladly spread my arms open and let the gunfire and blunt objects pepper and bludgeon me until I was another corpse lost to the wasteland.

I'm not sure who I am anymore, diary. What happens now?

Where do I go from here?

What do I do with Marie?

**Day 75: First Baby in Space.**

We've returned to Mothership Zeta to stay a while. I need a break after the kind of hell that I've been through the past few days. Elliot has been understanding, and given me my space. He's still searching the ship for a G.E.C.K. for the moment. And I've finally got all my stuff back together.

Marie won't stop crying. I can't blame her, but it's so disheartening. I'm usually so good with children.

Maybe music will help?

**Day 76: Man of Many Talents.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**[Baby crying.]**

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Boss, can you please make it stop?!

**Lone Wanderer: **Shhh...It's okay, Marie. It's okay. We're all here.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **She's not stopping!

**Lone Wanderer: **Lord in Heaven, forgive me for what I am about to do.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Please tell me you're not gonna si-

**Lone Wanderer: [Low voice.] **Under a silver sky I wander...These broken highways have become...my home...Alone in a world of rust and ruin stay...Through grey civilization's dust...I roam...

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **You're an awful singer...

**Lone Wanderer: [Low voice.] **And my wasteland soul. Fuck you too, Charon. Never will be truly whole...My only remaining goal, now, to survive...

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **I'm going to get a drink.

**Lone Wanderer: [Low voice.] **Someday the rains will come and...wash it all away...The heart of the wasteland will...awaken on this day...**[Pause.] **...She's asleep.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Finally.

**Lone Wanderer: **Hey, at least we're not making you sing. I think that would actually give her nightmares, what with your voice being like the sound of a mouldy carpet being dragged over gravel and all.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **You're such a charmer.

**Lone Wanderer: **And you're an ugly cunt. Go make yourself useful and go down to the engineering core. I'm fairly certain I saw a miniature sized Giddyup Buttercup toy somewhere down there.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Little old for toys, aren't you?

**Lone Wanderer: **Yeah, but I've wanted one ever since I was a little girl. Would you please just go look for it, Charon?! Kids' toys aren't easy to come by and I need something to keep her occupied when she inevitably wakes up!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **You know, you gave me permission to speak freely, so I'm gonna do it now. Your attitude has been real shitty since you came back from the Pitt. Do you have anything you want to get off your chest? Because from what little you've told me, you saw and did some fucked up things in there.

**Lone Wanderer: **For once, Charon, I don't think I do want to talk about it. I want to sit here, and keep myself busy, and remember better times. Can you let me have that, just for a few days?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Hmm. Fine.

**Lone Wanderer: **Thank you, Charon.

**Day 77: Oh God.**

I just realised something terrible.

I've been thinking for days now, trying to decide who would be best to hand Marie over to. Who would be the one most qualified to raise a child in the Capital Wasteland?

And that's when it struck me.

There's no-one. I don't trust any of these wastelanders. The only one I think could do even a remotely good job is Agatha, and she's too old for that kind of thing now.

I'm all there is.

And according to old world law, at my age I'm not considered mature enough to drink, purchase firearms, or enter a gambling establishment.

This child is _screwed_.


	12. Week Twelve

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Twelve**

**Day 78: Needed to get this reaction on record.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**[Footsteps.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **Hey dad, I'm back!

**James: **Son, is that you? I'll be right down, just a minute...**[Footsteps.]** It's so good to see you again-

**Lone Wanderer: **Hey, that's great! Guess what? You're a grandfather now!

**James: **Wait, what?

**Lone Wanderer: **I said you're a grandaddy. Congratulations! Meet Marie.

**James: **But...Where did...You've only been out in the wasteland two and a half months!

**Lone Wanderer: **Yeah...I may not have been entirely honest with you about my relationship with Amata...

**James: **Wha-?!

**Lone Wanderer: **Kidding!

**James: **Oh. No, really now. Where did this baby come from?

**Lone Wanderer: **I killed her parents and the whole rest of the city she lived in. I kinda had an obligation.

**James: **...Son, what happened?

**Lone Wanderer: **See, now that's a really long story and full of some really bad shit. I'd rather not discuss the issue until I'm feeling a little less suicidal. In the meantime, PLEASE FUCKING HELP ME! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING!

**Day 78 Part 2: Pondering.**

Marie has taken well to dad. I'm glad. Maybe with his help I won't fuck this up too badly. I really need to do better than I have been so far. Because if you really look at what I've been doing so far, it's clear that I'm incredibly unqualified for this job. I may be good with kids, but anyone who actually knew me as a person would never leave their children alone around me.

Perhaps their fears would be somewhat unfounded. I've never felt a need to unleash my homicidal urges on a child before. I like to think I'm better than that. But several weeks ago I also believed that I was above cannibalism, and then I ate a man with almost no concern for the inherent hypocrisy of doing so.

Actually, no. Fuck that. The Family were a bunch of thugs who terrorised a small town's residents and the people of Andale were inbred murderers. Cannibalism was never the reason they needed to die.

I'm still concerned. Maybe I like to think now that I could never kill children, but I've yet to be put in a situation where that would be tested. Like, if a raider gang had a child with them, possibly a son or daughter of one of the other raiders brought along to help get into the family business, and they were attacking a caravan of people together, what would I do?

Hmm. Getting deep today. Best move onto less grim topics.

Project Purity! That's going to start up again soon. Tomorrow, dad's going to want my assistance in fixing things up and getting ready for activation. I've been putting off helping him for a long time, and he really wants me to be involved. He says it's just routine stuff left to be done, but anything I can do to assist will be appreciated.

After all the terrible shit I've been through, I need something mundane to get me grounded in reality again. Maybe helping to bring clean water to the wasteland will redeem me for my sins somewhat. Tomorrow's activities will be exactly what I need.

**Day 79: FUCK YOU ENCLAVE.**

FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU .

**Day 80: I'm done.**

Fuck all this shit. I've had enough. My dad's dead. Project Purity is in the hands of those power armoured bastards that call themselves the Enclave, and the entire science team and myself have been forced to flee to the Citadel and cower in the headquarters of the other power armoured bastards, the Brotherhood of Steel.

At least Marie is in good hands now.

Me though? I can't deal with this anymore. The one man in the wasteland whose authority I totally respected, the one person who I was always ashamed in the presence of, who I never wanted to disappoint, who raised me and comforted me in the hard times, and who the thought of kept me grounded in what shaky semblance of morality I still had during the middle of even my most heinous crimes, is gone.

What is even the point of me? I existed only within the context of my father. He was the standard by which I always compared myself, and all I ever wanted during vault life was to live up to his expectations of me. When he left the vault, all I wanted to do when I got outside was find him. And when I couldn't find him right away and I was forced to travel the rest of this awful place, all I wanted was to do the right thing so he'd be proud of me. I defined myself by him.

There can't be any more Lone Wanderer. Because if I live any longer, I'd live as a broken man. I'd no longer have any reason to seek redemption for my crimes or want to help anyone. I'd no longer be the great hero who brought down the villains of the wasteland. I'd be the world's best raider.

I've climbed right up to the top of the Citadel, and I intend to fling myself off of it. I sent Charon off elsewhere on an errand with Dogmeat, and the rest of the Brotherhood and the Purity team don't know I'm up here. I won't be interrupted.

Huh. It's funny. In my final moments, I read back my diary of the past several months. I wanted to see how I got to where I am today. You know what I suddenly noticed?

In neither audio recordings or my written entries, not once has my real name ever been used. No-one spoke it aloud in all my days out here. I never gave anyone my name, even my closest companions. And I never wrote it anywhere. Dad was the only one who knew it, and he's dead now.

Hmm. Maybe that's for the best. I'm almost a living legend now. I think it'd ruin the mystique somewhat if people had a name to put to my face. Maybe it's best that I die without an identity. Let me be a symbol, rather than a man.

Perhaps I can still serve some purpose after death. I can be a story to inspire. I don't think my bad side will ever really be remembered with Three Dog around. As long as I remember to password lock my Pipboy before I jump, nobody need remember that side of me.

It's been a fun ride, Capital Wasteland. Hate to say goodbye.

Actually, it hasn't. Every moment since Amata shook me awake to tell me that Jonas was dead has been an absolute fucking nightmare and I've come to despise this land and everything in it.

Fuck all of you.

I'm done.

**Day 81: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 82: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 83: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 84: Goddamnit.**

Just to be clear, _no-one _interrupted my suicide attempt.

I successfully managed to take a running jump off the top of the citadel and fell several storeys. I wore no protective clothing or armour that would help me to survive the fall. I even sustained normally fatal injuries.

Except I fucking regenerated.

Without radiation no less. My previous mutation appears to have changed, because the Brotherhood told me that they found I gained an inexplicable low-level healing factor that repaired all the damage done to my body whenever I was exposed to direct sunlight.

So they just parked me in the middle of the training courtyard on a stretcher, and over the course of three days I went from on the verge of death to perfectly healthy, and I woke up today feeling like nothing fucking happened.

And there you have it. I can no longer die. And if I do, then my body will spontaneously produce some new mutation, formula or cybernetic enhancement to force me back to life anyway. So, fuck it. Why even bother fighting it? I'm going to go and use my newfound invincibility to wipe the wasteland clean. Getting pretty fucking sick of Talon Company for a start. They can go first. Soon as I get my bearings.

Sorry, Capital Wasteland, but it looks like I really am the messiah after all. I died for your sins, after three days I rose again, and now I'm off to bring about the final judgement upon those unworthy mortals.

FUCK I hate my life.


	13. Week Thirteen

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Thirteen**

**Day 85: I'm still pissed off.**

Today I returned to Megaton at long last, mainly to throw away all the junk I had accumulated since I was last there. All the armour and weapons I got from the gay raider went in there, even the stupid ones I had no use for like the steel knuckles and the only slightly less uncomfortable slave rags.

There were precisely two of my prizes that I didn't store away. The laser rifle called Metal Blaster is one, and has been added to my regular secondary weapons selection alongside the Xuanlong, Ol' Painless, Harkness' plasma rifle, etc. The other is the tribal power armour, which I've taken to wearing in place of the winterised T-51b suit. It just looks better in my opinion.

The winterised suit had since been stored away, along with another set, that of Lord Ashur himself. Yes, I once again stripped armour and clothing off the dead. Ashur's power armour though I felt deserved better than to be left to rot along with him. And maybe one day Marie can have it. Better than some random scavengers eventually stumbling across it.

There were other finds in the Pitt that I came back to the Capital Wasteland with as well, like Wild Bill's gun, the auto axe that I named the Man Opener, and a really nice hat that I liked the look of. All of them went in the lockers too. The last thing I need is more baggage, because Charon complains enough as it is.

Not just about the weight either. He's also been bitching non-stop at me over my failed suicide attempt too. I'm glad he cares and all, but I seriously wish he would shut the fuck up. I'm not in the best state mentally right now, but Charon's attempts at conveying emotion actually make me _more_ likely to kill myself, not less.

And then there's my other new companion, Star Paladin Cross of the Brotherhood of Steel. She knew my father well and even escorted me and him on our way to Vault 101 all those years back, so she felt like she should come along with me on my travels to lend her assistance.

Again, I appreciate it, but I still have concerns about this relationship. She's accompanying me of her own free will, because she thinks I'm deserving of her help. I think she, like Three Dog and the rest of the wasteland, is under the impression that I'm some kind of saint. If she discovers how far off she is, she will sooner abandon me to die than betray her moral principles. Of that, I am certain.

I was only at Megaton to drop off everything though. It's all been so chaotic and hectic out here, with all these things happenings at once, that I just didn't have the time before now to go store away or sell everything I don't intend to keep carrying. So I've since returned to to the Citadel to prepare for my planned crusade.

I did get a chance to drop off the chapter on robotics I wrote for Moira's Wasteland Survival Guide. I think she liked it, and I've gotten my next task now. That is to retrieve the archives of the library in Arlington. That should be easy to do, considering that I already helped the Brotherhood of Steel secure the place.

And I also picked up some Quantum for that crazy girl in Girdershade. I'll deliver it to her some time soon.

For the rest of the day, I plan to just relax and listen to some GNR. Catch up on the news. I've already heard repeats of reports from weeks ago about me securing the Lincoln memorial for the Temple of the Union guys, retrieving the declaration of independence, and finding dad too. Word has not yet apparently reached Three Dog about what the Enclave did.

Damn, I remember when I first stepped out of the vault, and I first heard Enclave radio. I really thought they sounded like good guys. I was so wrong. They're yet even more enemies to deal with. And unlike raiders and super mutants, these guys can actually fight.

And you know what? I'm glad. I'm glad that my enemy is so powerful. I NEED a unambiguously evil foe to rip apart with my bare hands. And I don't WANT to swat the Enclave like it's a giant fly. I want to wrestle it to the ground and bite its throat out while it continues to kick and scream.

I want an enemy that will struggle against me, that will take time to die of its various grievous injuries, and will make me WORK to kill it, so I can savour the stench of death. A spine shouldn't snap like a twig. It should make a mighty crunch, like a wooden board being broken in half.

In short, I have no desire for a battle. I want a _war_. I want a long, bloody, merciless war. I want to kill so many Enclave soldiers that every square inch of the wasteland gleams from the sunlight shining on the power armour of their fallen.

I will make them suffer.

**Day 85 Part 2: Even more pissed off.**

I've just been listening to the radio, and I've heard a report saying that the ghouls killed everyone at Tenpenny Tower.

I'm going to have to put off my slaughter of both the Enclave and Talon Company. My new priority target is Roy Phillips.

The Capital Wasteland is about to lose another settlement.

**Day 86: Recording for Prosperity.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Man 15: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Please! Stop for a moment! Consider-

**Lone Wanderer: **Shhhhh...Don't spoil the moment. **[Shotgun cocking.]** Just...let me savour this...

**Man 15: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **No, no, no, NO, NO! **[Shotgun firing.][Screaming.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **Ahhhhh...That was cathartic...Roy Phillips you ugly piece of shit, I hope you're happy with your lot in life.

**Roy Phillips: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **You...fucking...smoothskin...You don't know...who you're...messing with. **[Gasping.]** You kill me...There are gonna be SO many people coming after you...

**Lone Wanderer: **Then I'll kill them too, and use their guts as streamers in the party I'll be holding to celebrate your demise.

**Roy Phillips: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **I oughta...

**Lone Wanderer: **Nuh uh. Talking time is over. You've had your last words. **[Shotgun firing.]**

**Day 86 Part 2: Summary.**

Tenpenny Tower is once again leaderless. Roy Phillips is dead, and so is Michael Masters and several other ghouls who I was able to link directly to the slaughter of the humans. I got a little prize out of it though. Michael Masters' store had a schematic for sale. It's for that dart gun. I should really build that at some point. Not worth much to me, but collecting these has sort of become a game to me now.

I find myself feeling fatigued, but I have no desire to sleep. Especially not here, amongst all this death. The corpses of the human residents are still fresh, and laying in the basement. Even Dashwood, and Willy, who helped overthrow the bigots in the first place. It's all so pointless.

Killing is fine by me. Even cold blooded murder of the completely helpless. But my one rule is that there must always be a reason behind the madness. You must always be able to justify your actions, no matter how hollow it may ring. Like when I killed everyone in the Pitt. It was self defence. Weak excuse, I know. They were mostly badly armed slaves. But it was true. They were trying to kill me, so I showed no quarter.

This, though? There was no reason for this. It was all just down to one man's bitterness and...bigotry. Racism can work both ways. I got so caught up in trying to help the oppressed ghouls, I forgot that ghouls were not necessarily saints themselves. Of _course _ghouls can be prejudiced too. How can I have forgotten that?

It's enough to make you lose faith in humanity sometimes, but that implies that I feel any one single trait or concept can be definitively applied to the whole race. I know better than that. We are all individuals. It just so happens that the Capital Wasteland has a high concentration of particularly awful people.

But hey, that's why I'm here; to kill those people.

Tonight, I think I should go sleep in Warrington station. Now that the ferals are all dead, I think it'll be safe there. Safer than this tower anyway, where I'm surrounded by nameless, unknown ghouls who all resent me for striding in here and killing most of their number. I don't put it past any of them to murder me in my sleep.

I also just realised that I haven't marked the station on my map yet, even though I've been there several times already. I have since corrected this error.

Cross has already started getting squeamish. She's a hardened Brotherhood veteran, so it's not like she hasn't seen my kind of brutality before, but usually it's the crazed raiders and snarling super mutants that seem to relish in their enemies' pain, not her allies. She hasn't quite decided to abandon me yet but I can tell that I make her uncomfortable.

We talked about dad though. Old memories and the like. She knew a fair bit about him, though they weren't super best friends or anything. She even knew some things about me that I didn't know about myself. Like for one, I'm named after an uncle from way out west that I didn't even know I had. He looked after my dad when they were little, but parted ways a long time ago.

Even after he's dead, that man is still full of surprises.

Jesus, I miss him.

**Day 87: Boredom.**

After yesterday's events, today was comparatively dull. I ran out of things to do, so I ended up just wandering around the area, raiding whatever places I hadn't yet rifled through.

Started with Warrington station and trainyard, which I and the others did end up sleeping in for the night after all. Some minor loot, but as always I will wait until the end of the entry for inventory.

From there, I led my team on a raid of the RobCo facility nearby. It's been months since I first passed that place on my way to kill Tenpenny and idly thought to one day check it out. Today I finally had the opportunity. The place was crawling with hostile robots, but we put them down eventually. It was far less educational than I was hoping though. I was more expecting an experience like when we went to the museums in D.C.

That guy and the robot he refused to sell me were still there too. And he has been there ever since I last saw him too. I'm beginning to think that Harkness and Armitage weren't the only androids in the Capital Wasteland, because Tinker Joe HAS to be some kind of robot himself.

Other than that, we also came across two power stations. VAPL-66 and VAPL-84. Neither were particularly interesting. One of them didn't even have a substation building. I put both of them on the map for Reilly though regardless. There was another of those drainage chambers emitting those signals though.

And of course, the day was periodically broken up by fights with various other wasteland entities. Radscorpions, raiders, Talon mercs, rogue protectrons and mister gutsys. I also met a pair of wastelanders trying to disarm some mines by one of the power stations, one of whom got himself killed. Idiots.

I saved the best story for last though, because things finally got interesting when I reached my final destination for the day, Jocko's Pop & Gas Stop. I was outside the place, in the middle of fighting a bunch of gigantic radscorpions, when out of nowhere a whole bunch of Enclave troops dropped in on us.

They had this big flying machine. It's called a vertibird. I saw those in action before, back when I was in the Anchorage simulation. To see them for real is breathtaking. And they're also a lot of fun to shoot down. Me, Charon and Cross concentrated fire on it until the thing exploded spectacularly, killing Enclave and scorpion alike. I can only imagine how much more fun it'd be to do it with heavy artillery.

We encountered a different group of Enclave soldiers earlier in the day too, by one of the VAPL stations. They were a much more standard fight though, and far less interesting to talk about. Tried to set up an ambush, but it didn't work.

AND today was also great because I finally got confirmation that I'm not hallucinating. Remember that mysterious stranger with the trenchcoat and fedora that I mentioned in a few entries? The one who kept appearing out of nowhere, saving my life, and then vanishing into thin air?

Well, he's been showing up all over the place ever since then. I haven't been mentioning him in these entries because I've been trying to ignore him, because until now I was certain that he was just a figment of my imagination. But he's real! And I know because today, Cross saw him as well, when we were dealing with the Talon ambush.

I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that. The fact that another human being actually saw him means that he is a real person who really has been somehow following me absolutely everywhere, and evidently is a grand master of stealth boy use. And that means that there may still be a possibility of figuring out who the fuck he is.

And as promised, a summary of today's finds. Two copies each of the _Big Book of Science_, _Dean's Electronics_, and _Nikola Tesla and You_, plus one each of the _D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine_, _Lying, Congressional Style _and _Pugilism Illustrated_. There were five stealth boys, two Quantums, two mini nukes, and three other random pre-war books.

And happy day, one of those pre-war books was porn. And not the weird kind with robots like what I found before, either. Good to see that not all of pre-war America were sexual deviants. Now if only I weren't sleeping in a tiny shack with two other people and a dog tonight, I might be able to get some use out of this.

...Don't judge me, hypothetical diary reader. I'm nineteen years old and a virgin. I need this.

Which will change if I ever get around to finding those ant pheromones, I promise, but for now I have to make do with more practical solutions.

OH, and I nearly forgot the most important find of today, and that's the bottlecap mine schematics which we found here. Nothing that I don't already have of course, but schematics are still comparatively rare, and I like collecting them. Besides, they're all pretty unique, and often you'll find that some schematics contain little differences, where the owners modified the design to be more efficient than other models. It's good.

I just had a thought. Instead of taking all my schematics back to Megaton like usual, I should start downloading them onto the Pipboy. I already copy a lot of paper notes and computer terminal entries I find onto the thing if they have anything interesting on there that may be relevant later. Audio recordings too. This thing has a hell of a lot of memory space after all.

It'd be more complicated to do, but if I did put that on there then I'd be able to produce the weapons from the designs anywhere I find a work bench, and just consult the Pipboy for the design specs.

It's so obvious, I don't know why I never thought of it before.

**Day 88: Things Are Getting Fun Again.**

Headed over to Girdershade today, off to deal with Sierra and that other prick Ronald.

Sierra was overjoyed to see the delivery of the rest of her Quantums. In return she provided schematics for the Nuka grenades as promised, and also even offered to make me a pie with a recipe incorporating Quantums somehow if I bring more bottles, plus some vodka and flour.

I'll keep that in mind.

Ronald of course bitched at me for not helping with his plan to bed Sierra, so I shot him in the face with Blackhawk. Cross's reaction was priceless. I took his shotgun as a prize, because it was an engraved one called the Kneecapper, and I very rarely get to collect trophies.

Anyway, we then discovered that there was a camp nearby Girdershade now, where the Enclave had set up. I do like to kill me some 'clavers, so we went over there and I cut them out of their power armour with the deathclaw gauntlet to give them a proper stabbing. They were fucking terrified. And one of them was an out-of-uniform officer! He was practically shitting himself before I cut his throat open.

That said, we did have some trouble with the fact that this camp was host to some new Enclave horror. These guys apparently have the technology to put mind control helmets on captured deathclaws and use them as troops as well. As if deathclaws weren't terrifying enough already.

We had to kill three of the bastards before they went down. As one of the only wild animals still dangerous to a fully armoured Brotherhood of Steel soldier, Cross was far more edge fighting those than I had ever seen her. Particularly since she prefers melee fighting with a super sledge over shooting.

To her credit though, she kept her composure, and dispatched them with a professional grace that I find truly admirable. She's definitely earned my respect in the short time she's been travelling with me.

The camp was also full of supply crates. Despite being complete cunts, the Enclave have enviable resources. Top of the range weapons and armour, fresh food, pure water, and technology and military training that Cross admitted far outclasses anything the Brotherhood have. Save for maybe Liberty Prime, a giant pre-war robot they have that was meant to ravage the Chinese forces in Anchorage, but it was never completed and remains inoperable. So yeah.

Cross sent out a radio message to the Citadel calling in the location of the Enclave camp. She did it yesterday when we killed the other soldiers too. Some people from the Brotherhood are going to stop by everywhere we've been killing Enclave soldiers to collect their power armour and all their other technology and supplies.

Good thing too. There's no way in Hell me and my crew could carry all of this stuff. When we kill raiders or other scum, we can usually carry anything good they have with us until the next settlement we reach. Stuff like miniguns and missile launchers that super mutants often carry go for quite a bit.

Of course, it's usually necessary to periodically stop, break them all down and just put the best bits back together as one weapon to save weighing ourselves down too much. We get better cash for weapons in better condition anyway, so it works out economically too.

All this power armour though? No way. Enclave power armour is usually in pretty good condition as it is, and it takes a long time to break down and put power armour back together anyway. Fuck that.

Then we went northwards, passing by Rockopolis again. There we saw an Enclave vertibird pass by overhead, heading God knows where, and met a man called Ben Canning, who was dehydrated and on the verge of death, so we gave him some of the Enclave's purified water, for which he was eternally grateful.

My modern art project was still there too. Less beautiful now that the bodies have started rotting, but I think it's still appealing in an ironic hipster sort of sense.

From there, we headed northeast, and met up with another squad of Brotherhood of Steel soldiers, outside a place called Fort Bannister.

I had mentioned earlier in these journals that I intended to wipe out Talon Company in the near future, and today was the day. By a stroke of good fortune, the Brotherhood were coincidentally planning the same thing, and Cross happened to mention it to me. We figured, since we have the same goal, why not work together?

It worked out rather nicely. Between myself, the Brotherhood squad, and my companions, we laid waste to Talon Company's central headquarters with relative ease. The fortress was soon after occupied, giving the Brotherhood of Steel another port in the storm to stop by, and ourselves too.

They also managed to rescue a captive paladin who was being held here, and secured themselves untold numbers of high grade weapons, armour, ammunition and other supplies used by Talon Company. And their quartermaster also purchased our own loot from all the other places we've been raiding.

What's more, we found that there was an Enclave camp nearby the fort as well. The Brotherhood were weakened from having just finished fighting off the Talons, so to minimize losses, they lended me a Fat Man found in the fort and a mini nuke, and let me go wild. I rained down nuclear Armageddon on them with unbridled glee.

I still had to return the Fat Man afterwards, and again the Brotherhood claimed most of the contents of the camp, but I was allowed to rifle through the irradiated remains to see if there was anything of interest in there.

A terminal I found indicates that the place was officially designated "Camp Crater" and that its proximity to Fort Bannister, and thus the Brotherhood and Talon Company, was coincidental. The camp's stated purpose was to collect samples of something that it was meant to research, which is confirmed by the presence of a dead Enclave scientist in some kind of airtight environment suit.

I'm not sure what the samples it was collecting were, but given that I found a number of alien power cells near the camp, I can take a guess.

Anyway, it was all good fun. As a reward for my help in the assault, the Brotherhood soldiers now occupying the place have allowed me to stay, and let me take whatever I want from the fort as payment, within reason of course.

I mostly took books from the place; a _Big Book of Science_, a _Guns and Bullets _and a _Nikola Tesla and You_. The scribe down in Arlington wants me to collect these after all, and I figured I'd deliver it all direct rather than leaving these guys to do the leg work.

I also found another Quantum here, and I took two trophies from the body of the guy in charge of Talon Company. He was called Commander Jabsco. He had a rather nice combat knife which feels a lot like Stabhappy, which I took, and also a matching helmet for the Talon combat armour. I've never seen another Talon merc wearing a helmet like it, so I assume it's unique. For that reason, I took it as well.

HOWEVER, there were three finds I made that were significantly more important to me than anything else in there.

The first was a book that described the traditional training of the ninja, of ancient times. I've read enough comics in my time to know how cool ninjas are. I've not yet had a chance to read it, but this looks like it'll be the most genuinely fascinating new book I've found since _Paradise Lost_.

The second was another combat training book, but not one of the traditional ones like _Pugilism _or _Flamethrower Recipes_. No, this one was a short instructional guide on how to perform a move called the paralyzing palm. I've already read it through, because it is a hell of a lot shorter than the ninja book.

And no, I can't do the move yet. I need a bit of practise to get it right. Charon has allowed me to try it on him for the moment. It'll take a while before I can properly pull this off, being that I'm just copying what the book told me and haven't had it demonstrated to me. If I can learn this though, the book promises me that I'll be able to incapacitate any enemy in one strike for up to half a minute, using only my bare hands. And this will work through armour as well, somehow.

Needless to say, there's a lot of practical application to this.

And finally, my third discovery. A note. I've discovered who have been hiring Talon Company to come after me; Littlehorn and associates, based out of Scrapyard.

I know where I'm going next.

**Day 89: Further Raids.**

Rather than going immediately for Scrapyard today, we went south first. I had been informed by the Brotherhood that south was the direction I'd find Evergreen Mills, the place Three Dog has mentioned continuously as being the central hub of raider activity.

That description is entirely accurate. Once we got down there, we had a brutal battle. I've never seen so many raiders in one place before. They still didn't have very good equipment, but through sheer numbers they actually managed to present a threat to us. Enough so that we resorted to the underhanded tactic of releasing an insane super mutant behemoth on them.

I'll answer the obvious question first. We found the behemoth in a cage when we got there. These guys actually managed to trap a behemoth and stick him inside a pen, and they had a bunch of slaves in cages nearby too, who I think they made fight the behemoth for fun. So we had some fun of our own by letting him out and just watching the slaughter.

Would you believe that the raiders actually took him down? Well, one of them anyway. A particularly smart raider got himself onto some high ground and used a missile launcher to bring it down. Not before it killed all of his friends though, and by then he was out of rockets, so once he did us the favour of killing Big Ugly, it was child's play to snipe him in the forehead.

The inside was even more chaotic We went through several areas inside the main building, but eventually emerged into some kind of cave system beneath it, where the raiders were mainly set up. It was almost a town down there, complete with a shop and brothel. I tried to free the women in the brothel, but they attacked me too, so I threw them down a large drop.

My job is so thankless sometimes.

We met one raider there, AND PRECISELY ONE, who didn't want to fight us. His name was Smiling Jack. Rather than trying to kill us, he just wanted to trade. He held no animosity over us killing literally everyone else there, and had no intention of doing us any harm. What a nice guy.

I stuck Stabhappy through the roof of his mouth.

Cross really freaked out at that. I think she was just expecting me to actually be passive for once and do some trading, but I have very strict rules that must be enforced. Raiders and slavers do not get to live. If I didn't make an exception for people like Seagrave and Jericho, who left that life behind, or even Somah, who was actually my _friend_, I sure as shit was not going to spare this scumbag.

Cowardice does not endear a person to me.

It wasn't like I got nothing out of the whole thing though. Smiling Jack had a damn nice weapon. The Terrible Shotgun. Imagine my current combat shotgun, except several times more deadly and efficient. It makes my last one look like a 10MM pistol.

And the shop was also home to a bobblehead. I haven't seen those in a while. Good to know that my efforts are still worth it all this time later.

We gathered whatever we could, as usual. Whenever we scavenge anywhere, we usually find a decent amount of caps, food, water, medical supplies, etc. In this instance though, we once again left most of it. Why? Because just like Fort Bannister, this place would now be under new management.

The slaves that we came across here were unwilling to venture back out into the wasteland. I don't think any of them really had a place to go. And the Temple of the Union was really far away, being in D.C. now. So we decided to help them establish a new settlement here, in the old raider den.

With the raider armour left around, they have physical protection. With all the missile launchers and other weapons, they have personal armament. With the food and medical supplies, they have the basic consumables to last them a few months, and with everything else still lying around, they have things to trade with caravans for further supplies. There's even living quarters and a shop already set up here.

A new wasteland settlement was born today. And let me say, after wiping out Andale, Arefu, Paradise Falls, the Pitt, and arguably Tenpenny Tower as well depending on your stance on the Ship of Theseus concept, it feels really special to actually help create a town rather than destroy one, even if I usually do it for good reason.

It's like my first time in Big Town, when I saved Timebomb's life. Anyone who reads these journals would know how much I love ending lives, but I love to save them as well. I love them in a different way. Perhaps because it's a better demonstration of my skills? Any idiot with a gun can kill someone, but only a skilled doctor can perform life saving surgery. And after all the times I've had to treat the injuries of myself or my companions, I've become _very _skilled at the craft.

Or maybe it's that "empathy" thing that other people keep telling me about?

The rest of the day since then has mainly been helping the former slaves set up shop. The town is basically functioning now. All that remains is to spread the word that the old place is open for business. Until then, we're staying in the "town".

I've spent most of the evening listening to GNR and reading the ninja training book. So far, it's turned out fascinating, though I'm still learning. I've had far more success with practising the paralyzing palm though. I talked Charon into sparring with me again for another test, and I was able to make him freeze for six seconds. I'm getting better.

As far as news goes, Three Dog has been surprisingly on top of things. I've always thought GNR was slow to catch wind of news, but maybe that's just because I sometimes don't listen to it for days at a time. He's already heard about my attempted suicide and subsequent rise from the dead, and of course, he did NOT miss the opportunity for a Jesus comparison.

More than that though, he's also already reporting on some surprisingly recent events. He knows that I killed Roy Phillips and a good portion of the Tenpenny Tower ghouls, which he's not happy about, but he basically says that I've been heroic enough thus far that I can be given the benefit of the doubt and assumed to have a good reason for it. And he's already heard about the fall of Fort Bannister and Talon Company too.

At one point earlier, he did a really comprehensive report in a style I haven't even seen from him before, where instead of one news story, he did a roundup of stories from all across the wasteland, detailing activities of several major factions in the wake of the Enclave's appearance.

He talked about Enclave camps of the kind I've been encountering set up sparsely all over the wasteland. I've also heard tell of various atrocities being perpetrated by the Enclave against wastelanders, including gathering up large groups of them for slaughter by flamethrower, and attacks on smaller settlements too. So far, they've been repelled from Megaton and Big Town, but the Republic of Dave was slaughtered. Suddenly, I'm glad I dealt with the camp near Girdershade when I did.

What's more, there's also been talk of conflicts with many other groups. The Enclave have been taking fire from all sides. The Brotherhood of Steel and the Regulators are at the forefront, and the three have been fighting it out in small skirmishes all over the place. Additionally though, Talon mercs and raiders have also galvanized to take the fight to the Enclave, and there are even reports of the Enclave trading fire with slavers.

I wasn't even aware there were any of those left, though the new residents of Evergreen Mills say that they were only sold to the raiders recently. So I guess the slavers of Paradise Falls must still exist in some capacity.

Looks like I got that war I wanted. I feel kinda bad for wishing for it now. I forgot that there would be combatants on my side other than me.

By far the thing that creeps me out most is that Three Dog's reported on my collecting of all those bottles of Quantum. No mention of Sierra or Ronald, and yet somehow he knew I collected Quantums and that I had recently finished doing so. How the fuck did he know? Who reported that?

I wonder if Cross is reporting my actions back to the Citadel? The Brotherhood and Three Dog are in league after all.

Best hope she doesn't walk in on me right now then. I've gotten my own room for once, and I've taken advantage of the rare moment of privacy to indulge in fine dining. I've been meaning ever since the Pitt to see if the human body is better off cooked than it is raw, and with how many dead raiders there are around, I don't think anyone would miss this one.

So far, the verdict is that cooking people is hard work, but worth it. Not that they're bad raw, mind you, but I'd rather it this way. Because if you cook them, you can cut slices off and store it away, and no-one can tell what it is when you eat it later. I've saved myself a bag of crispy raider for tomorrow.

Could do without the radiation though. That food sanitiser that Moira gave me usually eliminates most of the radiation in my meals, but it's not nearly as effective on human flesh. It's a pretty big downside, too. These raiders have been exposed to radiation and the like for generations. Pretty much anyone in the wasteland will have at least a few rads at any given time.

Enclave soldiers are clean and unirradiated. I bet they taste delicious.

God, I need therapy so bad...

**Day 90: Home is Where the Heart is.**

My return to Megaton was hailed with great fanfare. The locals suffered without me there to fight off the Enclave attack, but fortunately for us, Lucas Simms is a hardcore badass, and power armour don't mean shit to him. The robots were damaged in the attack, and there were a few injuries among Lucas's volunteer corps, but fortunately nothing extreme. Billy Creel was the worst hit, but he'll live.

The worst loss of all wasn't even an actual death (as far as we know). Nathan Vargas was captured during the attack, mostly through his own stupidity. I've mentioned him before, in the very early entries. He's this really old guy who taught me a bit about the Enclave when I first arrived in Megaton, only unlike me he didn't realise that they weren't who they said they were.

At some point during the attack, he ran out into the firefight to try to convince the Enclave soldiers to stop shooting, believing the whole battle was because of a misunderstanding, and he was captured by their soldiers. We don't know what happened to him, but he was last seen alive, so his wife Manya lives in hope.

I hear tell that Simms called in help from the Regulators to deal with things. I've spotted one or two of them patrolling around town.

It's the first time that the subject of the Regulators has even been brought up between the two of us. I guessed that Simms was a Regulator immediately after I first joined, but I never asked him. And I never wore the duster in public, so he never knew I was one either. He was surprised to hear.

Speaking of the duster, that thing has been laying at the bottom of my backpack buried under a pile of other junk and bloody fingers for a long time now, along with all sorts of other shit I forgot I had. For one thing, a mask that Roy gave me immediately after we helped take the tower that I never wore, and for another, Button Gwinnett's wig from the National Archives.

They've all gone away in my lockers now, along with Jabsco's helmet and knife, the Kneecapper, and the mesmetron that Charon picked up. Additionally, I've also said goodbye to and stored away the Metal Blaster and the MPLX Novasurge plasma pistol. Unlike Charon and Cross, I tend to use a larger variety of weapons, but even I've never found a use for them, so that's a definite sign they need to go.

The same goes for my 10MM SMG, but I sold that rather than stored it, because unlike all the other weapons I stored it has no unique qualities or fond memories attached to it. I picked it up a long time ago, Germantown if I recall correctly, and used it on occasions since then until it was vastly outclassed by my other weapons. Mostly it was just my choice of sidearm when I ran out of ammo for everything else.

The bobblehead from Evergreen Mills found new purpose here too, and I always love to drop off all the extra food and water here and sell all the stealth boys. More recently I've also started keeping most of my caps in the filing cabinet in my room, just because there are so many I can't carry all of them everywhere.

There was also the geomapping to think about. Because I realised once I got here and consulted my map to set a waypoint for Scrapyard that I hadn't marked several of the locations I've visited recently. So I've now added Bannister, Evergreen and Jocko's to the map. For good measure, I also stuck on the radio tower where Wernher broadcasted from, and the train tunnel you have to go through to reach the Pitt.

I did that thing I was talking about before as well. That is to say, I downloaded all my schematics onto the Pipboy. This also allowed me to make more direct comparisons with the individual designs of the same weapon, and I was able to combine all of them into one design that had all of the benefits and none of the drawbacks.

So next time I make a shishkebab, or something like that, I'll have a much more efficient design than the ones I produced the first time. I even found a method when making Nuka grenades and bottlecap mines to produce several of them with same quantity of materials. I immediately took the chance to make a ton of Nuka grenades, using every single Quantum I had bar one, because I plan to get Sierra to make me that pie one day, out of morbid curiosity.

While we're on the subject of crafting, the dart gun has also finally seen the light of day. I picked up a radscorpion stinger a while ago to make this, but I didn't get around to actually doing it until now. This baby here, if it hits the target's exposed skin, should severely weaken them and slow them down.

Granted, this won't be much use against my new number one enemies, the Enclave, but I'm thinking more along the lines of their pet deathclaws, who these will be just as effective on. Without the speed necessary for them to get in range, those things pose less threat than standard Enclave soldiers.

As long as Dogmeat's survival instincts kick in and he remembers not to try and bite a deathclaw in the nuts like he does everything else, we should be fine.

**Day 90 Part 2: The Discovery.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Woman 3: **Excuse me?

**Lone Wanderer: **Hmm? What is it, Cross?

**Cross: **May I ask what this is?

**Lone Wanderer: **Ah, yes. That would be an alien energy rifle. It's called a disintegrator.

**Cross: **...Alien?

**Lone Wanderer: **Yep.

**Cross: **Where did you get this?

**Lone Wanderer: **Well, that depends on how you mean the question. Do you mean where did I get that one specifically, or do you mean where do they all come from and how did they get here?

**Cross: **Both.

**Lone Wanderer: **There's an alien spacecraft in orbit above the planet. I and others call it by the name Mothership Zeta. It was once one of two, however that all changed when they abducted me almost a month and a half ago. While on board, I met up with a slaver woman named Somah. She and I hatched a plan to escape our prison, and we succeeded. The aliens had some fearsome technology, but they were physically very weak, and easily dispatched. Things became even easier for us when we located and sprung several other prisoners who were being held in cryogenic suspension, all of them people abducted from various points in Earth's history. A samurai from ancient Japan, a cowboy from the times of the wild west, and a little girl and army medic from the time of the Great War. Between us, we fought our way through Zeta and fucked it up almost beyond repair. Upon reaching the bridge, we then used the weapons to destroy the other mothership and then shot a beacon back down to the Capital Wasteland that would allow us to leave. Paulson the cowboy left to wander the wastes, while Somah took her share of alien tech and returned to the surface. The others stayed onboard the ship, and they and myself now consider it our joint property, what with the aliens now being all dead. The samurai doesn't speak our language, so he just hangs around, but the medic and the little girl busy themselves by scavenging around the bowels of the ship for interesting technology, which they then stockpile until we can find a use for it all, since I don't trust any of the wasteland powers with that kind of weaponry. Case and point, Somah returned to Paradise Falls and distributed alien weapons to them all. When myself and Charon came along weeks later to wipe out the slavers, we recovered said alien weapons, and I'm keeping them here until I next return to Zeta to put them back in the proper hands.

**Cross: **...What?

**Lone Wanderer: **I don't expect you to believe me without seeing the ship for yourself first. That's what it took to convince Charon. Though, you should know I'm not planning to head there for a while yet, so for now you're going to have to take my word for it.

**Cross: **...Very well then. I'm...not sure how to respond to that. It's quite a story...

**Lone Wanderer: **You can ask Charon too, if you want. He saw Zeta as well, though he wasn't actually there when we were taking it over. He has met Elliot though.

**Cross: **Who is Elliot?

**Lone Wanderer: **The medic.

**Cross: **Oh. Of course.

**Lone Wanderer: **Any other questions?

**Cross: **Yes. Have you had any other strange adventures that I should know of?

**Lone Wanderer: **I _could _tell you that, but you seem like the kind of person who would walk out in disgust if I did.

**Cross: **...I don't like the sound of that.

**Lone Wanderer: **Neither do I. Maybe I'll tell you more one day. Right now though, I'd rather not talk about past shames.

**Cross: **Understandable. Don't feel like you can't trust me though. The whole reason I'm here is because I cared for you and your father, and I understand that things are rarely so black and white in the wasteland. Did you ever tell him about whatever it is you're so ashamed of?

**Lone Wanderer: **Most of it. Some I didn't get the chance to though.

**Cross: **Then if James was able to accept you in spite of whatever you did, know that I likely will as well.

**Lone Wanderer: **...Thank you, Star Paladin.

**Star Paladin Cross: **I'll leave you to your book then.

**Lone Wanderer: **And please put back that rifle too.

**Day 91: Extermination Station.**

Simms identified the source of the Enclave attack on Megaton as being a trio of camps around Springvale, so naturally our first job of the day was dismantling them.

One of them was by a bombed out power plant and was very poorly defended and staffed. This was because it was a research camp. There was a terminal there, which had some researcher's study notes on radroaches and mirelurks. And let me tell you, I took great pleasure in finding out that these super genius Enclave scientists were just as fucking lost as me when it came to try to explain the abomination that is the mirelurk.

The second was closer to Vault 101, and had a vertibird parked there. I don't know how to fly those, but as usual, the Brotherhood of Steel would be following closely behind us to raid the Enclave camps for supplies and technology, and Cross recommended that we try to take the camp with the vertibird intact. The Brotherhood could make use of those.

The final camp was between Springvale school and Vault 106, and was much more horrifying. Three Dog's report was right. The Enclave were rounding up wastelanders and slaughtering them.

They had a dedicated guy for it too. This HUGE-ass dude was in a set of power armour that simply put mine to shame, and he was burning the people to death not with a flamer, but with a beast known as a heavy incinerator, which fires balls of fire as projectiles. I've discovered that he wasn't a unique entity either. He's one of many. Veteran soldiers get to use this grade of equipment and call themselves hellfire troopers.

He was fucking incredible. I had to resort to Nuka grenades to kill him. The only two other individual guys who gave me this much trouble were Arkansas and Armitage. General Jingwei doesn't count because he was a simulation and I was handicapped by being forced to use weak-ass U.S. army weapons.

Actually, that sums up my life rather succinctly. I kill people so often that the standard equipment of a soldier in the time of the Great War isn't enough killing power for me. I've become so spoiled that I feel inadequate if I'm not carrying enough guns to invade a small country with.

I was originally planning for us to head out from here towards Scrapyard right away, but right now we're instead heading back to Megaton again. I'm storing away the tribal power armour I had before, and I'm putting on this dude's hellfire armour. It's heat resistant, radiation resistant, and it's on par with Charon's T-51b in terms of protection, and that's the strongest we have.

If the Enclave has multiple sets of these, then I need to get better protection. I wanted to wear the tribal power armour for its coolness and intimidation factor, but it's the weakest power armour I've seen yet, and if I'm going up against more hellfire troopers in the future, I can't sacrifice protection for what I think looks good. I've got to be more practical than that.

As for the heavy incinerator that the hellfire trooper was using, I've passed it on to Cross, because she needs it.

All the rest of us adhere to a strict format. Melee weapon, close range gun, long range gun. I favour the deathclaw gauntlet, Blackhawk and Ol' Painless respectively for that, though I of course have Charon carrying a backpack full of possible alternatives. And Charon himself has the Anchorage trench knife, his old shotgun and the railway rifle.

Cross though has until now lacked a long range weapon. She just had a laser pistol for the rare instances where she was expected to shoot and a super sledge for everything else. She needed a long range weapon. So she gets the heavy incinerator. It's far from her area of expertise, but as a star paladin of the Brotherhood of Steel, she _does _know how to use the big guns.

It's just in case she has to though. I don't expect her to use it all the time. We all have our favourites after all. Charon still prefers the shotgun over the railway rifle. I've also noticed that both of my companions have nothing in terms of explosives either, so I've distributed a dozen Nuka grenades to each of them.

Anyway, in the time I've written this up, Cross and Charon have finished preparing and are ready to go now. I want to head up north some time too, so we might be passing Zeta after all, despite what I said to Cross. For that reason, Charon's loaded up all the alien weapons and shit too. We need to put them back.

One final note as well. One of the victims of the Enclave's genocide at the second camp was Silver, the girl who lived in Springvale, and the first friendly face I met outside the vault. I buried her behind the house she was living in when I met her. May she find rest.

There's no way of telling one way or another if any of the piles of ash or charred corpses here are Nathan. I sincerely hope not, but it looks bleak. I'll keep an eye out for him whenever we go anywhere the Enclave is from now on, but I have to admit, chances are he's dead.

Suddenly I'm worried for Agatha. I should check on her too.

**Day 91 Part 2: Enclave or Otherwise.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **HA! I knew it. I told you the dart gun would work!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **Okay. I admit it. You were right. I'm sorry.

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.] **NOT SO TOUGH NOW, ARE YOU?! YEAH! Fucking lizards. **[Hissing.]** Whew. Feel that wasteland air, Charon. Can you smell the blood? I can. It makes me...hungry...

**Dogmeat:** **[Barking.]**

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **You give me the fucking creeps sometimes, boss.

**Lone Wanderer: **Psh. You just have a weak stomach.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **Well sorry if I don't **[Footsteps.]** find humans to be very taste-

**Lone Wanderer: **Ahem.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **Oh. Hello there, star paladin.

**Star Paladin Cross: **What was that you were saying? You don't find humans very...what?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **Uhhh...

**Lone Wanderer: **Charon thinks humans aren't very tasteful. He thinks we have no appreciation for fine art.

**Star Paladin Cross: **And why is that?

**Lone Wanderer: **I don't know. Why is that, Charon?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **...I don't know?

**Lone Wanderer: **Tsk, tsk, Charon. Blind prejudice isn't very nice, you know.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **Screw you, boss.

**Star Paladin Cross: **...Indeed. I'm going to call this in to the Brotherhood now, if that's alright.

**Lone Wanderer: **Go nuts.

**Dogmeat:** **[Barking.]**

**Star Paladin Cross: [Radio crackling.]** This is Star Paladin Cross, calling in. **[Footsteps.]**

**Woman 4: [Through radio.]** Roger that, star paladin. **[Radio crackling.][Footsteps.]**

**Star Paladin Cross: [Distantly.]** We've downed another Enclave camp, located near Jury Street Metro...**[Trails off.]**

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **That was close.

**Dogmeat:** **[Barking.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **True that.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **She'll be a while yet. Might wanna put on some GNR or something.

**Lone Wanderer: **Good thinking. **[Pipboy beeping.][**_**Easy Living **_**by Billie Holiday, 1937 playing.]**

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **One of my favourites.

**Lone Wanderer: **I prefer the Ink Spots and Cole Porter, personally.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **It's a shame not many of Billie Holiday's songs survived the Great War. She did way more than you hear on GNR, but most of them have been lost or ruined now.

**Lone Wanderer: **Well, you can say that about any pre-war stuff we still used. Even in the vault, we only ever lived on preserved boxes and tins of pre-war food. I tell you, I'd give anything to taste fresh food how the old world chefs made it.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **Oh God, yes...

**Three Dog: [Through radio.]** Hellllllo, Capital Wasteland! **[Howling.]** This is Three Dog! Coming to you loud and proud from my fortified bunker in the middle of a D.C. hellhole! Ain't life grand? And here's...ME! Haha! With the news...

**Lone Wanderer: **Pass me a water bottle, would you?

**Three Dog: [Through radio.]** Reports continue to come in of attacks perpetrated by the Enclave all across the Capital Wasteland. The Republic of Dave so far remains the greatest loss, with almost its entire population now wiped out, but attacks on other settlements have ceased for the moment, as the Enclave battles it out with everyone else first. From the remnants of the Paradise Falls slavers to our own boys and girls of the Brotherhood of Steel, it seems like everyone wants in on this Enclave war to get a slice of the action for themselves.

**Lone Wanderer: **Thanks.

**Three Dog: [Through radio.]** And of course, in-

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **Don't mention it.

**Three Dog: [Through radio.]** -Times of crisis, there are always heroes who rise to the challenge. It's not just our vault kid who's out there fighting the good fight, children. Let's also think of people like Lucas Simms and Sonora Cruz of the Regulators, who beat back the Enclave from the towns of Megaton and Canterbury Commons respectively. Or the dangerous raider rifleman Laszlo Radford, who wrecked an entire Enclave patrol team and downed a vertibird up north near Fort Constantine. Then there's the mysterious figure known as the Puppet Man, who was seen for the first time in two years when he re-emerged from his cave in the northwest to massacre a camp of Enclave scumbags who looked at him funny. Unsubstantiated rumours tell of a lone super mutant in the north who saved a group of scavengers from an Enclave vertibird, crazy as that sounds. The Brotherhood of Steel's best, the Lyons' Pride, have been right out there in the thick of it too, fighting the Enclave in the D.C. ruins north of Rivet City, and let's also not forget their red-armoured counterparts too. That's right, children! The Brotherhood Outcasts survive! The only ones left banded together out near the Bethesda ruins, and the so-called Last Platoon have been making their presence known! These cats ain't about to go down without a fight. I think they're a little small for a platoon, but they've killed more than their own number in Enclave troops, so ya can't argue with results.

**Lone Wanderer: **This is gold.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **What is?

**Lone Wanderer: **Shh.

**Three Dog: [Through radio.]** Now don't get me wrong, the Outcasts were and probably still are assholes, and I don't think I need to tell any of you about how bad raiders are. But I think we can all agree that these Enclave thugs are worse than anything home-grown here in the Capital Wastes. Now's a rare moment, children, where even the bad people of the wasteland are on our side. Because for once, we've got a common enemy. I'm not saying that you should be all buddy buddy next time you see a raider on your travels. Some men are dangerous psychos no matter how ya slice it. But all of y'all out there, be you raider, slaver, Outcast, Brotherhood, Regulator, Talon, or even just another poor bastard trying to get by out in Post-Apocalyptia, think about who the real enemy is next time you're pointing a gun at someone. If ever we needed some unity, it's now.

**Lone Wanderer: [Giggling.]** Oh boy...

**Three Dog: [Through radio.]** And now, some music. **[**_**Swing Doors **_**by Allan Gray, 1935 playing.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **Fuck yes.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **What is it?

**Lone Wanderer: **Don't you see? Three Dog's just given me a massive fucking list of targets.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **What? I thought those guys on the radio were heroes?

**Lone Wanderer: **HA! As if! Didn't you hear his descriptions? _Raider _rifleman? The _Brotherhood Outcasts_' Last Platoon? And that Puppet Man sounds like a near-feral psychopath too! No. These aren't heroes. These are people who have a bone to pick with the Enclave. The difference between me and Three Dog is that I think the idea of everyone being united by mutual hatred of a common enemy is fucking stupid. I don't care if a raider thinks he's on my side. I'll still gut them with Stabhappy for being a raider at soonest opportunity. And this message of peace is a _perfect_ opportunity.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly, electronic voice.] **To gut people?

**Lone Wanderer: **To gut people, yes. **[Footsteps.]** I don't want them as allies. I want to kill _everyone_.

**Star Paladin Cross: **...That was a bad line to hear out of context. Who are you talking about?

**Lone Wanderer: **Three Dog's got it in his head that the Capital Wasteland should be uniting in the face of a common enemy now that the Enclave has shown up. A few raiders and Brotherhood Outcasts and other assorted psychopaths have been killing 'clavers, so he thinks we should all be working together now.

**Star Paladin Cross: **That sounds very idealistic.

**Lone Wanderer: **And stupid. Why team up with the likes of Talon Company for example when we could slaughter them all and use their fortress to establish a new Brotherhood outpost?

**Star Paladin Cross: **I'm not ideologically opposed to a temporary truce with our old enemies, but-

**Lone Wanderer: **Well I am. Now come on. We've got places to be and people to kill, Enclave or otherwise.

**Day 91 Part 3: Agatha In Need.**

As you may have gathered from the midday entry, we went to Jury Street Metro Station instead of anywhere else first. The reason being of course that there was an Enclave camp in the area. Not to worry though. It's been dealt with.

From there, we went north. We stopped at Arefu for a spell, and again just inside Northwest Seneca Station, the entrance to the Family's old hideout. We checked in there because I knew it to be home to that ghoul, Murphy, the guy who was creating ultrajet. I wanted to go see if he and his bodyguard were still there. Looks like the Enclave got to them first though. Both dead.

Shame, really. I barely spoke a few sentences to either of them. I can't say I really miss them. Hell, being drug dealers, I can't even really say it's a bad thing they died with any kind of certainty. Maybe the world is actually better without them, in a way. Their deaths were still pointless though. There was no need for them to die. They just...did.

From there, we went straight east in the direction of Scrapyard, passing by Agatha's house. As I said, I wanted to make sure that she was okay, so we stopped by. Good thing we did, too! My party arrived just in time to save her and some other wastelanders from being dragged into a white trailer at a nearby Enclave camp and being burned alive by another hellfire trooper.

Wearing hellfire armour of my own though, my enemy no longer seemed so immensely powerful. His heavy incinerator was a lot less practical to use than my guns, and hellfire armour is naturally heat resistant, so he was negated his advantage. He still took a long time to drop. These guys are still worthy opponents, no doubt about it. This time though, I had no handicaps, and I had a much easier time of it. That's what I like. Challenge without frustration.

Agatha made it out alive, and the other wastelanders were able to escape as well. Two others. Each got to take an energy weapon and some food and medical supplies from the Enclave camp to help them on their way. Cross called in to the Brotherhood for them to pick up the rest.

We meanwhile are all staying with Agatha for the night. She doesn't have a lot of space for us, but it's already very late at night, and we need a place to sleep. We'll have a long day tomorrow. Agatha says that these Enclave camps have been springing up all over the immediate area, so we have some cleaning up to do.

Charon and Cross are already asleep right now. So's Agatha. I told them I'd be staying up to finish some books and this diary entry. That's not strictly true though. Because while I am finishing this diary entry, I don't plan to go to bed immediately afterwards.

Me and Dogmeat have some other business to take care of.

**Day 91 Part 4: Let's Conclude with a Killing.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**[Shattering wood.]**

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.]** WHAT'S UP, BITCHES?!

**Man 19: **What?!

**Woman 5: **Huh?

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.]** You there! Geriatric old fuck behind the desk! You must be Daniel Littlehorn! Am I right or am I right or am I right?

**Dogmeat:** **[Growling.]**

**Daniel Littlehorn: **...That I am. And who might _you _be?

**Lone Wanderer: [Electronic voice.]** Don't you recognise me through the Enclave hellfire helmet? Not surprised. I apologise. Maybe this will help? **[Hissing.]** How about now?

**Woman 6: **...Isn't he...?

**Man 19: **That's him! The Talon contract!

**Woman 7: **The Lone Wanderer!

**Woman 5: **Oh God...

**Lone Wanderer: **Thaaaaaaat's right! Gaze upon my glory and despair, you fucking parasites!

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Now, now! Calm down there. We can work this out like civilised gentlemen. You're a vault dweller, are you not? Surely you know better than the savage ways of the rest of the wasteland?

**Lone Wanderer: **Oh, see that's where you're wrong. I thought I was above the dirty wastelanders too when I first exited the vault. I sneered at the people of Megaton and blanched at the vileness of the raiders and recoiled at the disgustingness of the cannibals of Andale and the Family. I laughed at the primitiveness of the wasteland, and the ignorance of its people. But that was long ago. Because I learned better since then.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Oh?

**Lone Wanderer: **The wasteland has FREED me! This savage land was MADE for someone like me! I'm living the dream! The vault was a haven. A place of education and civilisation, the likes of which exists nowhere else in the wasteland, save maybe Rivet City. And it was great. But we're only human, Mr. Littlehorn. I like any other man have animal instincts. I need to give in. Sometimes, I like to let myself go. And that's what the wasteland has done to me. It's allowed me to let go of any pretense of civility where there exists none. I kill whoever I want, whether they deserve it or not! If I see something I like, I just TAKE it! People can piss me off, but I'll just shoot them! If their friends shoot back for revenge, I'll kill them too! I murder, I steal, I maim and torture and eat people and I don't care! And the best part? THERE'S NOT A PERSON IN THE WASTELAND WHO CAN STOP ME! **[Silence.]**

**Daniel Littlehorn: **...It seems I had entirely the wrong impression of you, Wanderer. We put out a contract on you because we thought you were another would-be "hero", looking to save the wastes. We couldn't have been more wrong.

**Lone Wanderer: **Oh, don't get the wrong impression. I AM a hero. I save lives all the time. I do all I can to help people and make life easier for them. I do want to fix this wasteland. I long to bring civilisation here too. Maybe I one day dream of a nation like we had in the old world. But, I don't feel the need to pretend I don't have a dark side.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Quite a hero. A self-described murderous, thieving cannibal.

**Lone Wanderer: **Haha! But those are the best kind! Don't you see? Because I see. I can see why you do what you do. I know why you dedicate your life to killing heroes.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **And why is that?

**Lone Wanderer: **Because it's a fallacy. Humans aren't or evil. They're people. Flawed, often self-serving, but functional. You want them to prove that. You want to bring back true competition. Darwin's survival of the fittest. There is no evil for evil's own sake. There is only what is perceived as evil done in the name of selfishness, like slavery, whereas good for good's own sake does exist, in the form of heroes. They have no opposite numbers. No-one to oppose them just for the sake of doing so. It ruins the balance. And that's what you want. You want to balance it all out. Cause as much chaos as possible, kill all these self righteous heroes who keep saving those that wouldn't survive on their own, and then you can live in an anarchist's paradise, where everyone is out for themselves and everyone does exactly what they want, like slavers and raiders do, because you believe that that is our natural state.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Hmm.

**Lone Wanderer: **Well?

**Daniel Littlehorn: **...You're right.

**Lone Wanderer: **I knew it.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **How did you know that?

**Lone Wanderer: **I just know your type. It's not hard to guess. You have an...aura...about you. If that makes sense.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **You're a good judge of character then.

**Lone Wanderer: **And I'm also a vision of exactly what you wanted. Humanity at its basest, according to your worldview.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **In a way. You're something of a contradiction to me. Heroism is a quality I greatly dislike. It stands in the way of that perfect world I see in my dreams, where everyone works for individual good, and if they fail then they're left to it. Yet, if anybody embodies working for their own individual good, and thriving where others fail, it's you. I'm conflicted. You're like everything I ever wanted to be, but at the same time my antithesis.

**Lone Wanderer: **Because I have morality, but I don't deny myself something I want because morality would say it's wrong. I have a set of my own principles I stick to for personal reasons, and they keep me in check. Yet there are some things I have to do, bad things, and I just feel...what's the point in suppressing those feelings, just for the sake of morality? There's no use denying the existence of my darker side. And why should I be amoral either, just because that darker side is there? Everyone has it. They just deny its existence. I just need to find...balance.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Bravo, my friend. **[Clapping.]** You've managed to justify heroism to me, even though I despise it so, and I can think of no counter-argument. That takes a real smooth talker.

**Lone Wanderer: **I like to think I learned it from my dad.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Indeed.

**Lone Wanderer: **But of course, as we've established, whether because of my own motives or otherwise, I am still a hero. **[Rifle loading.]**

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Of course. **[Rifle firing.]**

**Man 19: [Screaming.][Shuffling chairs.]**

**Woman 5: **Oh my God!

**Woman 6: **...Better him than me.

**Lone Wanderer: **And as the head of a company dedicated to killing the innocent and the good...**[Rifle firing.]**

**Woman 6: [Screaming.][Thumping.]**

**Woman 7: **I'm getting out of here!

**Lone Wanderer: **...And the one who sent people out to kill me...**[Rifle firing.]**

**Woman 7: [Screaming.][Thumping.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **I have every reason to want you dead, both as a hero, and as a wronged man doing what he wants to.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Indeed you do.

**Dogmeat:** **[Barking.]**

**Woman 5: **OH PLEASE NO! **[Rifle firing.][Screaming.][Thumping.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **So. **[Rifle loading.]** I think you understand what happens next.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Yes. Though, I wish I had known from the start who I was really dealing with. So many good mercenaries dead. So many caps down the drain. And all trying to kill a man I could have easily called a friend had things gone differently. For what it's worth, I am sorry for this whole misunderstanding.

**Lone Wanderer: **And for what it's worth, of all my enemies and all the people I've killed, I count you with the best of them. You may not be insanely strong like Armitage, or a master sniper like Arkansas, but it says something that I had to destroy all of Talon Company before I could even find you. No-one else has ever evaded me for so long, Mr. Littlehorn. You were my greatest challenge yet.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Thank you.

**Lone Wanderer: **The Talons have stopped ambushing me now. Not enough of them left. Any who were outside Fort Bannister when we stormed it are now fighting for their lives across the wasteland, and dying in droves. But then again...I imagine that's exactly what you would have wanted.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Oh yes.

**Lone Wanderer: **It'll be so boring without you. Your mercenaries kept things interesting. Without Littlehorn and associates...without Talon Company...I'm not sure what I'll do. Guess I always have the Enclave, but still. It feels like I'm saying goodbye to an old friend.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **The feeling...is mutual...

**Lone Wanderer: **So. Your choice. Where do you want it?

**Daniel Littlehorn: [Sighing.]** I've always been partial to headshots, personally. Gets it over with quicker.

**Lone Wanderer: **Very well.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Can I get a minute first?

**Lone Wanderer: **Sure.

**Dogmeat:** **[Barking.][Drawer opening.][Slamming.]**

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Whiskey?

**Lone Wanderer: **Don't mind if I do. **[Liquid pouring into glass.][Liquid pouring into glass.]**

**Daniel Littlehorn: **To the Capital Wasteland.

**Lone Wanderer: **The Capital Wasteland. **[Clinking glasses.][Drinking.]**

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Can I make one final request?

**Lone Wanderer: **Sure.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Those heroes Three Dog mentioned on the radio today? The Last Platoon? Sonora Cruz? Sarah Lyons? The Puppet Man?

**Lone Wanderer: **Yeah?

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Could you kill one of them for me? Just one?

**Lone Wanderer: **...Sure.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Thank you, son.

**Lone Wanderer: **Ahem. Right.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Yes, let's not delay any further.

**Lone Wanderer: **Any final words?

**Daniel Littlehorn: **No. I am content.

**Lone Wanderer: **It's been a pleasure, Mr. Littlehorn.

**Daniel Littlehorn: **Likewise.

**Lone Wanderer: **Goodbye... **[Rifle firing.][Thumping.]**

**Dogmeat:** **[Barking.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **...You were a worthy foe...


	14. Week Fourteen

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Fourteen**

**Day 92: Daniel Littlehorn.**

My archenemy is dead.

Though I never knew it until I found that note in Fort Bannister, it's always been Littlehorn I was fighting. Every Talon mercenary who ever tried to put a bullet in my skull was backed by L&A caps. A good number of raiders were on his payroll too, hired to kill innocent people and collect ears, to whip up maximum chaos and disorder. I wasn't surprised to hear he also had ties with Paradise Falls, Evergreen Mills and Tenpenny Tower too.

Frankly, the only real shock is that he ISN'T somehow responsible for the existence of super mutants, because that would have just put the icing on the cake.

It was always him though. Daniel Littlehorn was the Professor Moriarty to my Sherlock Holmes; I didn't meet him in person until right before our final showdown, but he's been there in the background the whole time, pulling the strings. HE was my true opposite number. Who else could be the perfect nemesis for the unbeatable, battle-hardened wasteland messiah known as the Lone Wanderer, other than an old man who needed nothing but his desk and some caps?

He carried not a single weapon and wore nothing but a pre-war business suit, but I did battle with that man for months, almost ever since I emerged from the vault. And no-one, but NO-ONE, has given me as much trouble, as Mr. Daniel Littlehorn, of Littlehorn and associates.

This is my eulogy for him. The world is a less interesting place for his absence.

**Day 92 Part 2: Unexpected Developments.**

Today was mostly spent hunting around the eastern regions of the wasteland in search of Enclave camps. They are a menace to post-apocalyptic society, and it was imperative that they be wiped out, so we got to work early.

Agatha's house was our starting point. From there, we immediately moved towards the Bethesda ruins, and from there, to the Chryslus Building, where we saved a scavenger and his robot from some raiders. Soon after though, we found ourselves wading into a bloody four-way war.

Yes. FOUR-way.

There was a small camp nestled between two buildings which seemed to be the place everyone was gunning for, staffed by a few not very effective-looking Enclave soldiers. Varying between attacking and defending them, a gang of raiders, the robot army of Scott Wollinski, the Mechanist, and the soldiers of the Last Platoon, final remnants of the Brotherhood Outcasts.

The Enclave were dead almost seconds after we arrived. Too many people who hated them. The raiders and Outcasts though were definitely NOT friends. They turned on each other next, and Scott's army seemed to take the side of the Outcasts. It was at this point that we rushed in, guns blazing.

The other factions didn't even see who we were shooting at, (_IT WAS __**EVERYONE**_), before they all decided to flee. Scott ran for Canterbury Commons, while the raiders fled north and the Last Platoon went way east, presumably to meet with another group, because I don't think that was all of them.

Cross called in the camp with the Brotherhood, but there wasn't really much there to salvage.

Another vertibird also appeared at one point to drop off two more soldiers, but they were dealt with too.

We went a little far south, and came to the borders of the D.C. ruins. There, we found a crater, which was marked on my map already and yet I was sure I had never seen before. Then I recalled that wastelander I saved from a deathclaw that one time. The one who was supposedly treasure hunting and gave me his map. This was the entrance to the Rock Creek Caverns he was telling me about.

We explored it, but there wasn't much of note in there. A Quantum and a stealth boy were the most notable finds, plus loads of corpses and mirelurks. There was a power fist as well, but I've come across those before. They're interesting technology, but not really worth my while. I usually sell them, if I find them at all. Cross took this one though. Said the Brotherhood might want it.

Also nearby that place the National Guard Depot I went to before. Unlike last time I was here though, this time I didn't have anything particularly pressing to get onto, other than routine Enclave killing. So after we wiped out another camp near the depot, we went in and had a look around.

The place was a maze. It was a nightmare getting around in there because of all the collapsed sections and somehow still functioning security. Damn if it wasn't full of loot though. Most of the best stuff we recovered from the armoury, once we finally got into that. Military gear of all kinds.

Under normal circumstances, we'd have collected all the gear up, lightened our load by taking it all apart and fixing the best parts back together as higher quality weapons and armour, and then Charon would have carried it for me until we reached a place we could sell it all and get even richer.

Since we picked up Cross though, we did the usual thing. Called the Brotherhood and told them we found a cache of good shit and that they should come by and take it before somebody else does.

Cross's presence has been a major blow to my income recently, but as she pointed out, I'm rich enough that I shouldn't be worrying about losing possible caps. I have a mountain of them back home in Megaton anyway. Which I suppose is true. And as she also explained, the Brotherhood could use all these supplies.

For now, I'm allowing it, but my condition is that if the Brotherhood gets to have the bulk of any of my finds, I get to pick out what I want from the pile before they do. So if we stumble across some great big supply warehouse full of medicine that the Brotherhood wants, and there's an experimental pre-war drug or something that could give me the power to shoot lasers from my hands in a safe somewhere, _that's _mine.

There were books as well, naturally. Nine this time. Three of them were the usual ones. A _Duck and Cover!_, a _Junktown _and a _Tesla_. There was also a bobblehead, which I'm very pleased about.

There is something else though. A code-locked bunker further into the armoury. I can't get into it. The usual hacking methods aren't available for this one. It needs a four digit code, or else it's not going to work.

I may be way off here too, but given how this is an army bunker, and requires a four digit code...this _might _be the place where the Keller family were supposed to take refuge.

I don't know for sure. And I never will know until I get in there. With only three digits though, I can't. I could guess the last one, but this thing looks like it might be programmed to lock down if I input the wrong code, which I have a nine in ten chance of doing. So I'll hold out for now. Maybe one day I'll get lucky and find another holotape with the last number I need on it.

Doubt it though.

It was getting late by the time we left the armoury, but we didn't want to stay there. I was thinking that we could possibly stay in Canterbury Commons tonight, but I don't think we will. Scott's likely taken back his forge by now, and probably won't appreciate my presence. So instead, we're staying inside of the Corvega factory tonight.

The best part? The ant queen's body was still here and intact. And now I got me some ant pheromones. So long, virginity!

**Day 93: What a Day.**

The Enclave were out in force today. Hellfire troops in the direction of Chryslus, dropped off by a vertibird and accompanied by a sentry bot. A camp in the same direction underneath an overpass, which hosted a deathclaw and another sentry as well as the usual soldiers. Two more soldiers were dropped off by Vault 108 later in the day, and had to be put down as well.

There was also a single eyebot right near the factory I wanted to kill this morning. There were these two guys just staring at it and absently talking about the thing as it floated around in front of them. I think the Enclave guy controlling it was laughing his ass off at them. I tried to talk to the guys, but they just ignored me. So then I shot the eyebot anyway, and they just gave me these really frowny looks. Teach them to ignore people trying to talk to them. Dicks.

We soon after arrived in Canterbury Commons, where we found Scott again. He was a little jumpy, because of the fact that I was shooting at him last time we met, and I have a history of killing the people I shoot at, but we were cool after I explained that it was just a misunderstanding.

It wasn't really. I didn't want to kill him; the Outcasts just needed to die and he and the robots seemed to be on their side, so it was unfortunate circumstances. I told him I just thought he was someone else though.

The town's still going nicely though. The caravan traders are all here. They've stopped travelling for a bit to take refuge from the Enclave. Many of them have set up camps along their routes, and they're understandably nervous about that considering that the Enclave's goal seems to be genocide of all wastelanders.

There are a group of Regulators set up in town now as well. Sonora is not among them, but I was able to speak with a few. They're here to defend the town against Enclave aggression. They say that there's a load of camps west of here near Wheaton that are responsible for the recent attacks, though the one that was talked about on GNR that Sonora helped repel came from the south.

There was a camp up near the Robot Repair Centre. I didn't notice it coming into town because all the soldiers there were already dead. Scott and the Regulators took care of it. I did go up there to look though. The town already picked it clean of anything to sell though. In fact, Scott's wearing a set of Enclave Tesla armour right now, presumably recovered from here.

I did find a terminal though. The camp was supposed to be host to an experiment as well, testing a chip that was meant to be used to control gun turrets. I think. I actually found the chip, but the turrets were all destroyed already, so I didn't get to see how it was meant to work.

I want to help destroy the Wheaton camps as well, but for now I need to head north and find the Regulator HQ. It's been ages since I sold fingers to Sonora, and they're weighing me down.

**Day 93 Part 2: Killing Enclave Soldiers for Fun and Profit.**

Sonora paid me for the fingers, plus a little extra for Daniel Littlehorn's specifically, as she knows of him and all he's responsible for, but I couldn't convince her to come with me or give me some more manpower to help take down Enclave camps. Apparently she's been coordinating her organisation's movements across the wasteland recently, as the Regulators are stretched too thin.

While there, I took the opportunity to ask about that mysterious stranger who even now keeps following me. She says he's not with them though. In her own words, "if we had a guy like that, we wouldn't waste him on stalking you when we could be sending him after the bad guys."

So the mystery remains.

There was no shortage of Enclave attacks to keep me busy though. There was a camp northwest of the old Temple of the Union where there were robots, and a vertibird that kept dropping off Enclave troops where least appropriate. Like to ambush me near some old pre-war buildings on my way out of Canterbury Commons heading north, or on top of an old highway near the TotU. I eventually shot it down though, along with all the troops inside.

How many of these guys are there?

The camp near the TotU also had a terminal, by the way. This one was also a biological research station, and I found entries on wild dogs, radscorpions and molerats there.

None of that is important though. What's important, is what happened while I was up near Regulator HQ. I was approached by slavers, who evidently didn't recognise me, and they were asking for my help in locating some slaves that ran away from them. I killed them of course, but their mere presence confirmed Three Dog's stories. The Paradise Falls slavers continue to exist.

And worse, I think they and the Talon Company remnants have joined forces. I have no idea where their hideout is, but it's somewhere around that area.

I need to work something out.

**Day 94: A Game of Chess.**

I sent Cross back to Megaton on an errand. She's going to retrieve some very important equipment for me. I have a plan, and it's a great one. It required some scouting first though, to make sure I knew all the details.

I went north again, and looked around for the Talons and slavers. Sure enough, I found them. Near the place I've dubbed the Grisly Diner, I was confronted by another slaver group, also having trouble with escaping slaves, though these ones were right in the middle of a chase. I saved the slaves, and they were able to direct me to Greener Pastures Disposal Site, the new headquarters of the Paradise Falls slavers.

It checks out. There is indeed a large operation going on in Greener Pastures, and it appears to be an even mix of slavers and Talons. Is this all that my efforts have accomplished? Destroy two entire factions of bastards and the remnants of both will merge into a faction of all-new bastards in a new location? Fuck that.

I was able to save another group of slaves that were on their way in, covertly killing the slavers and releasing the collars for them without alerting the rest of the camp. I don't want to kick up trouble here just yet though. Like I said, I have a plan.

When Cross gets back, it'll hopefully all be clear.

**Day 94 Part 2: Gathering the Pieces.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Woman 8: **Alright, I came all this way, just like you asked. This had better be...What is that?

**Lone Wanderer: **Sonora Cruz, glad you could make it. I'd like you to meet the gang. This is Scott Wollinski.

**Scott Wollinski: **Hello.

**Lone Wanderer: **And Paladin Jensen, from the Brotherhood of Steel.

**Paladin Jensen: **Pleasure.

**Lone Wanderer: **And as for your question, this right here is a Fat Man, which is a shoulder mounted weapon designed to launch mini nukes, of which Charon is carrying several for me.

**Sonora Cruz: **Okay. What's this all about then?

**Lone Wanderer: **Quick. List off as many enemy organisations of the Regulators as possible.

**Sonora Cruz: **Well, there's raiders, slavers, super mutants, the Enclave, Talon Company, Littlehorn and associates, though not anymore, and on their worse days, the Brotherhood Outcasts too.

**Lone Wanderer: **Great. So, how'd you like to wipe out a great big chunk of your enemies all in one go?

**Sonora Cruz: **I'm listening.

**Day 94 Part 3: This is War.**

Scott's robot army circles around Greener Pastures, ready to drive the Talons and slavers southwards.

To the west, the Enclave make their camps and try to maintain their research, backed by robots and deathclaws, while just south of them, the Outcasts bide their time while preparing for another attack. Little do they know of a third faction in power armour coming up behind them, led on one side by Paladin Jensen, and on the other by Star Paladin Cross.

The Regulators lie in wait, here in Canterbury Commons, at the command of Sonora and with the aid of Charon, their guns trained on the horizon.

And then there's me, sitting on my little perch, overlooking the battlefield. This is where I'll be tomorrow, when it all goes down.

I got exactly what I asked for.

War.

**Day 95: The Battle of Canterbury Commons.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**[Various guns fire in background.][Various energy weapons fire in background.][Explosions in background.][Screaming in background.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **This is glorious...

**Charon: [Through radio.][Deep, gravelly voice.] **Boss! Slavers and Talons coming in now!

**Lone Wanderer: **I see them, buddy.

**Star Paladin Cross: [Through radio.]** The Enclave are approaching the target zone.

**Lone Wanderer: **Excellent.

**Paladin Jensen: [Through radio.]** Sir! The Outcasts are on their way!

**Lone Wanderer: **Astounding work, gentlemen.

**Dogmeat:** **[Barking.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **Yeah, I see them too...Regulators? You there?

**Sonora Cruz: [Through radio.]** We copy.

**Lone Wanderer: **Keep an eye on things on your end. Scott, I want all your best sentries providing covering fire.

**Charon: [Through radio.][Deep, gravelly voice.] **They're fighting! Outcasts, Enclave, Talons, and slavers!

**Scott Wollinski: [Through radio.]** Is it time?

**Lone Wanderer: **Indeed it is. ATTENTION ALL SOLDIERS OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF STEEL. EVACUATE THE BATTLEFIELD. REPEAT. EVACUATE THE BATTLEFIELD. FALL BACK TO CANTERBURY COMMONS IMMEDIATELY.

**Paladin Jensen: [Through radio.]** You heard him, men! Retreat to the town!

**Lone Wanderer: **And now the fun part...**[Clunking metal.]** You clear, Jensen?

**Paladin Jensen: [Through radio.]** Nearly, sir!

**Lone Wanderer: **Cross?

**Star Paladin Cross: [Through radio.]** Just a minute...

**Lone Wanderer: **...Aaaaaaand...We're good. Scott, pull back your essentials!

**Scott Wollinski: [Through radio.]** Already have.

**Lone Wanderer: **Fire in the hole!

**Day 95 Part 2: Victory.**

The Enclave's officers, soldiers, hellfire troops, robots and deathclaws were all driven from their camps at Wheaton and slaughtered, the slavers of Paradise Falls are completely destroyed at long last, Talon Company has breathed its final wretched breath, the legacy of Littlehorn and associates with it, and the Last Platoon lays dying in an irradiated, burning crater.

I don't think I've ever seen anything go so smoothly before. Best of all, I got my own radio broadcaster now! I think I'll start my own station, like Agatha and Three Dog have. I'll call it Radio Wanderer, and it'll be a talk show, where me and my companions discuss all the things that make me right and everyone else wrong.

Three Dog's been on the radio recently, reporting on the Evergreen Mills situation and the slaughter of various Enclave camps that I'm responsible for. He also continues to report on the antics of other lone heroes around the wastes.

I don't think he'll be very happy about the fall of the Last Platoon, but he'll be ecstatic when he hears that the slavers and Talons are all finally gone. Now I need to decide who to get rid of next. The super mutants are way overdue for a thrashing, but I haven't seen any for a while. D.C. and the Germantown area are relatively clear now. I'm sure they must have fled to somewhere, but I don't know where.

Possibly the northwest. I should go there sometime.

The Enclave camps held nothing of interest. There was a terminal at one that I was hoping had something interesting, but it appeared to be mostly census data. Boring.

Now that things seem to have settled down here, we're going to make a quick trip north again. Zeta awaits.

**Day 95 Part 3: Activities Up North.**

We just went up this way so I could drop off the alien weapons we were carrying on Zeta again. I took the opportunity to introduce Cross and Elliot. She was astounded, naturally. And she predictably wants me to share the tech with the Brotherhood of Steel. I told her that the Brotherhood have enough already right now, and that I'll give the technology to who I feel is worthy of it, as I deem fit.

She was disappointed, but there wasn't much she could do about that.

Elliot's search for a G.E.C.K. has turned up nothing. He tells me with certainty that there isn't one on board. Oh well.

We've also been searching out Enclave camps up here too, because Three Dog mentioned that there were some in this region. So far, there haven't actually been that many. As in, none at all. Though maybe that's because we've only gone so far as Paradise Falls.

Much as I want to explore the areas north and west of here, I don't have time for all that adventure stuff right now. I believe I need to go south soon. To Megaton, to the Citadel, to Rivet City, wherever. The Enclave in this area of the wasteland has been pacified, and other problems need to be taken care of.

Specifically, Marie. I've not seen her in nearly two weeks, and I need to make sure she's okay.

Paradise Falls is still a ghost town right now, but it'll do as a place to stay.

**Day 96: The Duel.**

Today started off, appropriately enough, with someone trying to kill me.

First thing that happened after we left Paradise Falls is that we were ambushed by a psycho with a railway rifle just like the one I made for Charon. He shot at us to get my attention, and then challenged me directly.

Said his name was Laszlo Radford. He was a self-described craftsman, raider, collector of Grognak comics, and an old friend of Sam Warrick, who after some thinking I eventually recalled as the man I shot in Fairfax all those months ago, who helped me to discover my love of blood and murder.

Well, of course, I am the Lone Wanderer. As he described me, I kill raiders, I killed his friend, I have a complete collection of Grognak comics at home in Megaton that he'd have loved, and I'm something of an amateur craftsman myself, because like him I have improvised weapons. His choice is the railway rifle. Mine are the Nuka grenades and dart gun.

So he challenged me to a duel. No power armour. No other weapons. No help from my companions. I had to fight him using only the weapons I'd built myself, and he'd do the same.

How could I resist?

I was at an advantage. Without the power armour, I got to use the next best thing. Chinese stealth armour. I was a gentlemen, and resolved not to use the invisibility function, however the terms of the duel did allow me to use the Nuka grenades.

Laszlo was a slippery son of a bitch though. He could move fast, and the grenades were far from reliable. I didn't get much of a chance to hit him. He meanwhile had a gun, and if you think railway spikes can't hurt through the stealth armour, then you're wrong.

Good thing I had the dart gun to compensate, because thanks to the V.A.T.S. on my Pipboy, I was eventually able to land a clean shot at his neck. The dart gun worked just as well on him as it did on all those Enclave deathclaws. Better, in fact.

And once he couldn't run around anymore, he was a vulnerable target for a well placed grenade. There was a flash of blue, and my opponent was roasted. Absolutely brilliant.

Didn't taste bad, either.

**Day 96 Part 2: Passing Through Megaton.**

When I say passing through, I mean in my overall journey. We are staying the night, and continuing on to the Citadel tomorrow.

The bobblehead has put on its stand here, but other than that, nothing to report.

This entry was kind of pointless, actually.

**Day 96 Part 3: And now, something important.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**[Laser pistol priming.]**

**Lone Wanderer: [Stirring.] **Huh? What the...? Cross?

**Star Paladin Cross: **You...

**Lone Wanderer: **Cross? Umm...Why are you pointing that at me?

**Star Paladin Cross: [Breathing deeply.]** I read your diary.

**Lone Wanderer: **What? How?

**Star Paladin Cross: **You don't password lock your Pipboy when you sleep. You just leave it on. Your arm was hanging out of the bed when I found you, and it was on the diary already.

**Lone Wanderer: **Yeah. I was re-reading some old entries when I...

**Star Paladin Cross: [Sighing.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **...How much did you read?

**Star Paladin Cross: **All of it.

**Lone Wanderer: **Ahhhhh...I can explain?

**Star Paladin Cross: **You are insane.

**Lone Wanderer: **Well, yes.

**Star Paladin Cross: **You killed all those people.

**Lone Wanderer: **Which ones are we talking about here?

**Star Paladin Cross: **You've murdered innocents.

**Lone Wanderer: **See, 'innocent' is such a relative term...

**Star Paladin Cross: **Betrayed those who put their trust in you.

**Lone Wanderer: **Technically-

**Star Paladin Cross: **Lied to and deceived others.

**Lone Wanderer: **Really? You're counting that against me?

**Star Paladin Cross: **Stolen from those who showed nothing but kindness to you.

**Lone Wanderer: **Nothing they'd miss!

**Star Paladin Cross: **Even _eaten _people!

**Lone Wanderer: **Don't knock it 'til you try it.

**Star Paladin Cross: **And you're not even _sorry_.

**Lone Wanderer: **Well that's not true. I wouldn't have attempted suicide if I had no regrets.

**Star Paladin Cross: **And after ALL that you've done, WHAT do you have to say for yourself?!

**Lone Wanderer: **I'm assuming that's rhetorical, because you keep interrupting my attempts to say things.

**Star Paladin Cross: **"There's not a person in the wasteland who can stop me."

**Lone Wanderer: **Yep. It was rhetorical.

**Star Paladin Cross: **Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, Wanderer, but there IS a person who can stop you. And it's me. So you give me one good reason right now why I shouldn't blast your head off.

**Lone Wanderer: **Well, there isn't one.

**Star Paladin Cross: **Hm?

**Lone Wanderer: **That's why I was always afraid of you finding out. Because I really can't justify myself to you. Though, in truth, I was more afraid of that because I thought you'd be disappointed in me and leave, rather than because I thought you'd kill me.

**Star Paladin Cross: **And why should my opinion matter to you?

**Lone Wanderer: **I don't know. Because you're a good person, maybe?

**Star Paladin Cross: [Snorting.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **It's true. I'm not a good person myself, but I care about them. If you've read my diary, then you'd know that. People like Agatha, for example. Or Three Dog, I guess. Gob...Moira...

**Star Paladin Cross: **You still-

**Lone Wanderer: **Cross, I know. I know I'm a horrible person. I've known for a long time. All I can do, is try to redirect that. Try to focus it, and turn it on deserving targets, like what we did at Canterbury Commons.

**Star Paladin Cross: **You just kill to satisfy your bloodlust.

**Lone Wanderer: **Doesn't mean I'm not still trying to do right though.

**Star Paladin Cross: **Your idea of what's right leaves much to be desired.

**Lone Wanderer: **I'm aware. I do what I can, Cross. I can't help what I became. If I'd stayed in the vault, maybe I wouldn't be the way I am. I _didn't _though. I came outside, became a part of this world, and reacted to it the only way I could. And if you think I'm a monster right now, then just think of all the things I _could _have done. If I were so devoid of any sense of right or wrong, there might not even be a Megaton for us to have this conversation in today. I might very well have taken up Burke's offer and reduced this whole place to ruin. **[Pause.]** It's all about the context, Cross. I'd like to see what you would have done, if you were me. You might find that your path wouldn't have been so different.

**Star Paladin Cross: **We are nothing alike!

**Lone Wanderer: **Then why are we on the same team, fighting the same bad guys, and working towards the same goals?

**Star Paladin Cross: **We do not have the same goals! You're in this because you like killing! I'm fighting for the good of the wasteland, and to avenge those who-

**Lone Wanderer: **Those who what?

**Star Paladin Cross: **Those who...gave their lives...

**Lone Wanderer: **Oh, you mean like James?

**Star Paladin Cross: **I...

**Lone Wanderer: **No, you're completely right. Why would I ever want to avenge him? He was only my father. Nothing special. I've got no stake in this at all. I'm just some detached vault sociopath, who giggles while he kills everyone and never once feels any emotion other than joy when someone dies.

**Star Paladin Cross: [Sighing.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **You're free to leave at any time. I won't stop you.

**Star Paladin Cross: **...I'll tell the Brotherhood. And Simms. And everyone. I won't let you go around pretending to be hero so you can get away with all your crimes.

**Lone Wanderer: **If that's really what you want to do, then I won't stand in your way.

**Star Paladin Cross: **Like hell you won't. I'd hardly be the first person you had murdered to cover everything up. What about Carlos, the water beggar?

**Lone Wanderer: **Yes, that's true. I wouldn't do that to you though. You have my word.

**Star Paladin Cross: **And why wouldn't you? What is it about me? Why do you care what _I_ think? Why spare _me_? Why not anyone else? Don't tell me it's because I'm a good person. That would never stop you. Why do you _really _care?

**Lone Wanderer: **...Honestly?

**Star Paladin Cross: **Tell me.

**Lone Wanderer: **Because dad was all I ever had. I never had a mother figure in my life. You're the closest thing I've got. **[Awkward silence.] **Pathetic, I know. That's what you remind me of though. You came along on this trip to protect me, you knew my father and you tell stories about him all the time, and...I guess that's just the connection I made. I've grown attached to you. And I was afraid of disappointing you. And now that I have, I'll accept any punishment you feel is appropriate.

**Star Paladin Cross: **You...Damn you...

**Lone Wanderer: **Sorry.

**Star Paladin Cross: [Sighing.]** You killed Ashur.

**Lone Wanderer: **...You knew him?

**Star Paladin Cross: **Very well. He was once a paladin with the Brotherhood of Steel. Part of the original expedition from the west coast that brought us out here. He was one of the old gang. Him, me, Lyons, Casdin, Rothchild, Tristan...He was a friend.

**Lone Wanderer: **I'm sorry. **[Awkward silence.]** I mean it.

**Star Paladin Cross: **I know.

**Lone Wanderer: **...So...what happens now?

**Star Paladin Cross: **I don't know.

**Lone Wanderer: **Do you still want to kill me?

**Star Paladin Cross: **No.

**Lone Wanderer: **Or go out and tell Simms and the Brotherhood?

**Star Paladin Cross: **...No.

**Lone Wanderer: **Why not?

**Star Paladin Cross: **Because of your sincerity.

**Lone Wanderer: **Hm.

**Star Paladin Cross: **I still think what you've done is despicable.

**Lone Wanderer: **Understood.

**Star Paladin Cross: **But I won't leave your side because of it. I think the best thing I can do is stay with you, and make sure you don't cross that line again.

**Lone Wanderer: **Very well.

**Star Paladin Cross: **...Would you really have just let me go and tell everyone?

**Lone Wanderer: **Of course. I couldn't possibly kill you. I meant what I said.

**Star Paladin Cross: **Well, of course you couldn't kill me. I have a gun and you don't.

**Lone Wanderer: **Actually, Charon's been standing behind you with his shotgun for most of this conversation.

**Star Paladin Cross: **Wha-? **[Shuffling.]** Oh.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Evening, star paladin.

**Lone Wanderer: **I could've had you killed at any time. Remember that I didn't.

**Star Paladin Cross: **...Huh...

**Day 97: Western D.C. ruins.**

Destroyed Enclave camp this morning, near the Super-Duper Mart. It was another biological research place. Terminal had entries on bloatflies, giant ants and brahmin. Nothing of particular interest.

But onto the good parts, remember that sewer waystation I marked on the map the first time I went to Grayditch and never actually explored? Today, I got the chance to.

It led down into some sewers, surprisingly enough. Full of feral ghouls. Including one really tough son of a bitch who it took an entire round of shotgun blasts to kill. Charon identified it as a "reaver".

Yeah, that really threw me. Apparently there are special names for different types of feral ghouls, depending on how much radiation they've soaked up and what protection they've got.

Your standard feral just wears rags, but there are also the roamers, which are just normal ferals who happen to be wearing the remains of combat armour, most of them likely having been soldiers in life, and reavers, who also have parts of armour, but are also sufficiently irradiated that they have increased powers and durability too.

The glowing ones, which are called glowing ones funnily enough, are pretty much just a step above reavers.

A reaver is strong thanks to their built-up radiation, and also has the protective benefits of the armour they were wearing when they "died", but glowing ones never have the armour. This is because once a reaver is irradiated enough to have a glowing one's powers and appearance, they will likely destroy their armour and any protection it gave them through repeated use of that weird explosion thing they do.

So glowing ones are simultaneously an evolution of reavers, and weaker than them. This scares me, but Charon assures me that reavers are comparatively rare. There's a certain sweet spot in terms of radiation levels that you have to be at to get a reaver's powers and durability, but not become a glowing one, and it's difficult for a feral to reach that level by chance.

I believe him. This is the first I've seen of them, and I've killed hundreds of ghouls.

There was one sentient ghoul in the sewers, but only borderline. He still attacked us in a crazed rage with intentions of eating us, but he retained enough mental faculties to use weapons and maintain a living space. He also had a collection of Nuka-Cola merchandise that would have made Sierra proud.

One positive that came out of the whole mess was plate of readily prepared human meat. I took it without mentioning what it was. I do that to all food I find, to avoid possible starvation next time we explore anywhere with nothing to scavenge. It's policy.

And I got the paralysing palm move to work too! Thirty seconds of paralysis exactly. That psycho didn't know what hit him.

After we were done exploring, we returned to the surface and continued on our way to Grayditch. Why were we going to Grayditch? Because I wanted to get the rest of those pheromones before some other jackass did, assuming they were still there. And they were. Lesko hadn't figured out what he was sitting on yet.

Now it is I who holds the monopoly on the wasteland's most effective aphrodisiac! And still no clue who to use them on.

I did find something interesting down there though. There was a pathway down there I didn't properly check out before. I followed it, and I emerged into some new area of the D.C. ruins I haven't yet been to. Falls Church district.

I marked the area I emerged as Falls Church North. The district was big, so like I do with all D.C. districts, I divided it into other markers placed around the area. Falls Church East and Falls Church Metro were the others. It was also home to a large number of super mutants. As I mentioned, I hadn't seen any for a while, so I was glad to find they weren't all gone.

There were some Brotherhood of Steel people there too. A pair of paladins, to be precise. They were mounting a rescue mission for a captured initiate. I didn't even need Cross's prompting to join in the efforts. Good thing we showed up when we did, actually. Those two paladins were on the verge of death when we arrived. I don't think they'd have made it without us, or Initiate Pek.

Those three long ago made it out of Falls Church safely. We stuck around to explore the area, loot the place and kill any remaining super mutants though. A pair of office buildings were where we searched first, though there was another building we went into later which was particularly interesting.

L.O.B. Enterprises. They had connections to China before the Great War, and were developing an incendiary sidearm for their military. This naturally caught the attention of the American government, who raided them and shut the company down.

Then the bombs fell, everyone died, and L.O.B. was sealed up with the robots that raided the place still inside, until two hundred years later, some group of assholes came along to raid the place themselves and killed all the robots, taking with them anything of value they found in that building.

This resulted in my find of the day, the Zhu-Rong v418 Chinese pistol. Only one of its kind ever made, because this was the prototype, and the raid happened before mass production began. It's just like a regular Chinese pistol, but this one sets people on fire. You'd think that would be enough, but you'd be wrong, because it's still Chinese, and Chinese pistols are all shit, regardless of how bitchin' it is to set people on fire with bullets.

I don't get it. I really don't. The Chinese made awesome assault rifles. Why couldn't they nail handguns?

Oh well. Whatever.

Today's loot:

x3 Nuka-Cola Quantums.

x4 Stealth boys.

x1 _Big Book of Science_.

x2 _Tumblers Today_.

x1 _Pugilism Illustrated_.

x1 Chinese training manual.

x6 other pre-War books.

The Zhu-Rong v418 Chinese pistol, as explained above.

Tomorrow, we continue the adventure.

**Day 98: I Forgot How Much D.C. Sucks Balls.**

The Battle of Canterbury Commons was on the radio today. Three Dog was predictably pleased, and less choked up about my big "fuck you" to his unity idea than I thought he'd be. To be fair, I don't think he really liked the Outcasts either. He was probably just in the mindset that we needed all the manpower we could get to deal with the Enclave.

Which is not true. The Enclave aren't pussies by any means, but when you've killed one smug bastard in power armour, you've killed them all.

Last night was spent in one of the office buildings in Falls Church. Today, we went down a metro tunnel and decided to explore the rest of western D.C. While exploring the particular tunnel, we stumbled into an irradiated metro utility area. And it was full of reavers and glowing ones.

What the fuck? Seriously? I thought reavers were supposed to be rare. And then we were suddenly attacked by a whole mob of them. Charon definitely got a shouting at over that little mistake.

We got a pretty awesome flamer out of it though. It's called the Burnmaster, and it can produce fire several degrees hotter than a regular model for the same fuel cost. A very nice piece of engineering actually, and using almost the exact same parts. These should have been standard issue. Whoever made this increased the efficiency dramatically with almost no effort.

I like to think that the metro tunnel's old janitor was some kind of weapons design prodigy, and he only worked there because he was too hardcore for military R&D.

Anyway. We fought our way through the ghouls and the raiders and entered a new district. This one was the Mason district, which was mainly a big park. Nasty super mutant infestation when we arrived, but we fixed it. Rescued a captured wastelander too.

This place was also host to Hubris Comics, the guys who made the Grognak comics back before the war. We went in to check it out. Found the old printing presses and some still active terminals and everything. Unfortunately, I've already completed my Grognak collection, and I could never really get into any of their other series. It was an interesting tour though.

Some nutcase with a minigun was there too. He set traps all over the place, for fear of ghouls and super mutants. He was surprisingly durable. Didn't have any armour, and yet it still took several shots to get him to actually die. A respectable effort. I give him a six out of ten for resourcefulness, a seven for tenacity, and a nine for taste. Overall, a very delicious man.

A utility tunnel beneath Hubris funnily enough led us back to Wilhelm's Wharf, behind an outhouse. We could have easily gone on our way from there, but there was another metro station back in the Mason district we needed to check out. So we went back into the tunnel, back to the district, and then into the other metro station. This one was flooded as fuck, full of mirelurks, and there were raiders outside once we left.

When we did leave though, it deposited us very happily near Arlington library. We arrived in time for an Enclave attack. There were a whole load of vertibirds flying around, bombing the fuck out of the library while another dropped off ground troops. We shot down one of them between us and killed the ground troops, and the others all fled. We had help from some Brotherhood paladins of course.

We're staying in the library right now as I write this. The day is getting late, after all. Though, we may still be able to get to the Citadel before sundown. I downloaded the library archives for Moira, just like she wanted. I neglected to do so on my last visit. Scribe Yearling took all my books off my hands for me too.

Those books, in addition to the ones I collected and listed off yesterday, include three copies of _Guns and Bullets_, two each of _Tumblers Today _and _Dean's Electronics_, and one each of _Duck and Cover!_, _D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine_, _Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor_, _Pugilism Illustrated_, _Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual_, plus a _Grognak the Barbarian _comic and five other unique brands of inanity and trash.

I kept the porn though.

I should also note we've picked up seven stealth boys and three Quantums today as well, and a power fist of a brand I've never seen before, called the Shocker. Nasty piece of business. As you'd guess by the name, it'll shock people it's used on. Should be really good for dealing with robots, and it even came with an instruction manual of all things.

In terms of landmarks, I added the exit of the flooded metro to the map, as the Flooded Metro, and I added two points for Mason District too. Mason District South, and Hubris Comics.

And I think that's everything. I THINK. I'm not sure. It's been a very active day for us. Lots of walking, lots of fighting, and lots of picking up random books and other things we've stumbled across in the various metro tunnels. I forgot how much work it is exploring new areas of the D.C. ruins. And I forgot how much I HATE the metro system.

If there's one good thing about the Enclave making bombing runs over this city, it's that they'll hopefully collapse in all these tunnels if they do it enough. And I hope they do. It'd sort out the feral ghoul problem rather nicely.

**Day 98 Part 2: I KNOW WHERE ALL THE D.C. SUPER MUTANTS WENT NOW.**

TO GO GET THEIR FRIENDS.

AND COME BACK.

FOR REVENGE.

OH GOD, THEY'RE FUCKING HUGE AND THERE'S LIKE FIFTY OF THEM SURROUNDING THE LIBRARY.

WE ARE SO FUCKED.


	15. Week Fifteen

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Fifteen**

**Day 99: Super Mutants Are Dead Now.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: [Panting.]** Oh...my God...That...was horrendous...

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Boss, I can't feel my left arm...

**Dogmeat:** **[Barking.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **That'll be because it was torn off, Charon.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **That makes sense.

**Lone Wanderer: **Where is Cross?

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Buried under some of this rubble somewhere...

**Lone Wanderer: **Jesus. Help me find her. Come on.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Boss, I really don't think she would have survived an impact like that, especially while she was also being shot...

**Lone Wanderer: **No. She's alive. I know she is. She had Brotherhood power armour and she was also a cyborg. She isn't that easy to kill.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Alright. If you say so, boss.

**Lone Wanderer: **...Here. Try this pile.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **I've got one arm.

**Day 99 Part 2: Explaining.**

We fought the super mutants yesterday long into the AM. Those bastards were _organised_. And I've never seen them concentrated in such large numbers before, either.

The Brotherhood tells me that Washington D.C. was actually relatively free of super mutants since my crusade. Impossible as it sounds, me and my crew managed to almost single-handedly clean all the scum out of the D.C. ruins, at least the eastern ruins, and that's something that not even the Brotherhood as a whole managed in their entire campaign.

Stuff like my attempts to cleanse the Mall and all the ferals I killed in the underground actually made it a much safer place, but the super mutants still continued on elsewhere, most of them hiding out in the western ruins we were exploring yesterday, and yesterday they mustered all their forces with the intent of slaying me and the rest of the Brotherhood, so they could take back D.C.

It's almost hard to believe. I mean, I know I'm hardcore, but really? I wiped _all of Washington D.C._ completely clean?

What's even more unbelievable is that we survived the onslaught as well, and beat the attacking force. Again, assistance from the Brotherhood was necessary, but up against fifty mutants, I hardly think that's an unfair advantage.

Cross got _fucked up _by the mutants, and Charon lost an arm. I took a pretty bad beating too, but nothing broken. Not even Dogmeat escaped unscathed. He was shot. Multiple times. I'm not worried though. He's been shot before. Dogmeat is by far the most fragile member of our posse, but that doesn't mean he can't still take legendary amounts of damage.

Anyway, we all retreated to the Citadel after that. Not just my crew, either. All of the Arlington Library staff did, including Scribe Yearling. It's a miracle most of them survived. She says that business at the library is not done yet, but she's going to have to put the book scavenging on hold until the more immediate problems like super mutants and Enclave are dealt with. Too dangerous to be out there alone right now.

Last time I was at the Citadel, I didn't do much but mope around. This time, I resolved to learn more about the place, and the people here. So Cross introduced me to all the important guys.

The scribes first. There was Rothchild, one of the "old gang" that she mentioned, and the head scribe of the Brotherhood; Vallincourt, Rothchild's assistant and a gadget specialist who didn't much want to talk to me; Peabody, proctor of the Order of the Sword, which means he's the head of the Brotherhood's weapons division; Bowditch, who is his equivalent in the Order of the Shield and specialises in armour; and Jameson, who runs the Order of the Quill, and they're all about preserving pre-war knowledge. Yearling is a member of the same order.

I got a secondary task from Jameson, who said that she will pay anyone who comes back to her with Brotherhood holotags, which all BoS members have. It records their deeds, and when they die it's used to honour their memories. Cross has been on duty collecting those wherever we go, and most other soldiers usually do the same.

However, I do distinctly recall coming across some dead Brotherhood of Steel soldiers in and around that bunker where the super mutants were gathered in the middle of the mall. I never touched their holotags or anything, so they might still be there. I plan to go back for them later.

Then I got to meet some of the other individuals of the Citadel.

There was some kid called Arthur Maxson who is a descendent of the founder of the entire Brotherhood for one. And there was Knight Captain Durga, the Brotherhood's quartermaster, who agreed to trade with me essentially like a shop once Lyons gave permission. There was the nice drill sergeant, Paladin Gunny, who seemed surprised that I and Charon both already had power armour training. And finally, some guy called Artemis, who is apparently a pretty big deal, but I'm not sure why.

And then there was the Lyons' Pride. Some of them I had already met back when I was first going to GNR, like Knight Captain Colvin and Paladin Vargas. Most of them though were new faces to me.

One guy called Paladin Glade was running a betting pool for whoever could find out the real name of one Knight Captain Gallows. One thousand caps, too. And they'd been trying for a while. Naturally, I got him to tell me his real name in less than half a minute. It's Irving. Now I have another thousand caps I have no use for.

I remember not being rich once. How did I ever get by?

Irving wasn't the only knight captain who wanted to hide his true name though. There was also Knight Captain Dusk. Whose real name was...wait for it...Dawn. I don't really even need to make fun of that. That can stand on its own.

By far the most interesting conversation though was with Paladin Kodiak. He grew up in the Pitt of all places, and was there when Lyons led the scourge, a campaign by the Brotherhood in which they wiped the whole city clean, killing anyone who put up a resistance.

It sounds bad, but it was a mercy killing really. The people of the Pitt were savages and mutants, and the place was rampant with crime. The scourge was a hell of a lot more ethical than what I did at any rate. Ishmael Ashur was one of the paladins involved in the scourge, and it was during that invasion that he got left behind and became the man I met.

Kodiak meanwhile, along with several other unmutated children, was taken in by Lyons and the Brotherhood. He says he considers the elder to be his father, and considers the scourge to be the best thing to ever happen to the Pitt.

I found out his real name too. It was Greg Bear. Greg Bear, as in, brother of Grudd and John Bear, the two psychos that I had to kill in the second round in the Hole in order to earn my freedom and confront Ashur back in the Pitt. I can't tell you how guilty I felt to find that out.

I didn't tell him.

Li, Garza, Dargon and Agincourt from Project Purity are still here too, though not doing much. They're all understandably shaken over everything. No idea about the rest of the team though. I mean, I know Janice was killed by that guy in the coat, but I'm not sure what happened to the other Rivet City scientist. What was her name? Anna Holt, I think?

Oh, and while I'm talking about people I got to meet, how can I possibly neglect to mention Sarah Lyons herself? She's just back from another fight in D.C. with some Enclave types. And still just as attractive and attainable. If only I had some kind of special ant pheromones that made me just as irresistible to her- OH WAIT I TOTALLY DO.

I'm not going to use them right now though. Still badly injured. Trying to have sex in this state would only be painful. And that's not how you want your first time to be; there is no greater turnoff for a girl than bleeding all over her. Or she might be into that. I don't know. I certainly hope not.

Anyway, for now my gang and I are just hanging around the Citadel doing other things. Cross has gone to talk to Elder Lyons and the rest of the old gang, I think wanting to disclose to them about Ashur's fate in the Pitt. Charon meanwhile I left in the care of a medical robot called Sawbones, which I had to repair a malfunction on before it would work properly, but it's going to hopefully reattach his arm.

Our power armour has also all been damaged, so I've taken it to be repaired, and it should be okay by morning.

I've been to the quartermaster ato sell most of the crap we picked up in our trip through the western ruins. And of course, our loot from the super mutants. Many of the ones that attacked us, or at least the really fucking huge ones, were carrying some new kind of laser weapon I've never seen before, which the quartermaster called a tri-beam. Pretty uninteresting to me, but the Brotherhood love their advanced tech, so I let them have them all.

I kept the Shocker, Burnmaster and Zhu-Rong though. I've reserved a place for those in my Megaton locker, with all my other trophies.

As for me, I'm going to continue to bleed over the place here until Charon is okay, and then I'll have a turn with the medical robot too. Dogmeat's keeping me company for the time being, and I've also used the time to check up on Marie.

She's doing good. Crying less often, sleeping and eating well, and the scribe left to look after her says she's been no trouble at all. She did say however that she thinks Marie is pining. She misses her parents. Like I didn't have enough on my conscience already. Best I can do right now is be there to comfort her as well. At least I'm a familiar presence to her, even if for the wrong reasons.

What to do with her? Nowhere in the wasteland is completely safe after all. I want to believe I can leave her here and she'll be fine, but the Citadel will be a high priority target for the Enclave, and I do NOT believe that they would spare children. But if I take her back to, say, Megaton, would she be any safer?

I don't know. This whole debacle would never have happened if I had just kept my nose out of the Pitt's business. That had nothing to do with me. I should have left Wernher and Ashur to their own devices.

What would dad do?

**Day 100: Return to D.C.**

Today, I used my caps to buy a large amount of the Brotherhood's scrap metal off it. The reason was that I recalled Underworld needing a supply of scrap metal to fix the place up, and I was heading there today. I needed to go into D.C. and sort all this shit out. And that's exactly what I did.

I headed into the ruins and went for for the Reilly's Rangers headquarters first. I showed Reilly the information on my geomapping module, and she was impressed by the locations I managed to scout. According to her, I had almost a complete map of the Capital Wasteland, though she asked if I could finish off with the northwest region at some point.

She also noticed that my Pipboy now had loaded a map of the Pittsburgh area. She asked about why that was, and I told her it was because I had travelled there for an adventure. I was surprised to learn that she would pay for mapping areas outside of the Capital Wasteland as well, as long as I had actually been there and verified the contents of the landscape. With that in mind, I added markers for the trainyard I arrived in, the bridge, the downtown area, the steelyard, uptown, and Haven as well.

While there, me and the Rangers also teamed up to fight off some attacking Enclave. A vertibird flew over and dropped off a single hellfire trooper and a robot, and he distracted us on the ground while the vertibird tried to carpet bomb the Seward district. Both of them went down with time.

Reilly also pointed us in the direction of the L'Enfant plaza, where there were more Enclave set up. We exterminated them too, plus another group that were set up in the Mall district outside the Capitol Building that we think were there to attack Underworld.

Soon after, we went into that bunker area and recovered the Brotherhood holotags, as we said we would, and then made for Underworld itself. There I handed over the scrap metal to Winthrop, who was glad to finally have some materials to work with, though surprised that it came courtesy of the Brotherhood of Steel, if only indirectly. Cross's presence and lack of hostility was the real shocker though.

I also met a wandering wasteland doctor while travelling too, who has since come to Underworld to work under Barrows and Graves.

And then we hung around there for the rest of the day.

Charon got reacquainted with some old friends, making use of his newfound freedom to actually socialise with them for a change, while me and Cross spent most of our time drinking with the only other human in the city aside from the doctor, Sydney, the mercenary that I worked with to obtain the declaration of independence.

The funniest thing happened while we were with her as well. She was talking about her father again, retelling the tragic story of the last time she saw him, when she happened to mention the nickname he called her by. Little Moonbeam. And that's when it hit me. I had heard that before.

I dug through my Pipboy, and deep in the archives, I found a digital copy of that note I found in the hotel where I rescued the rangers. It was a note addressed to someone called Little Moonbeam. That skeleton I found on the bed was her father. Talk about coincidence.

She got a little emotional over it, but was glad to learn the truth of what happened to her father. She gave me her gun as a thank you. It's another SMG. Not really of much use to me, just like the last SMG I sold, but I appreciated the gesture, so I kept it.

I did stop by the general store though to buy some vodka and flour, because it was the first place I came across that sold both. They're the other ingredients I need for Sierra to make that Quantum pie she mentioned. I don't know when next I'll see her, but if I ever do, I'll be prepared.

On the news, Three Dog's reported the fall of two of the "heroes" out there fighting the Enclave. Laszlo Radford, and Tinker Joe. The former was of course my challenger, which Three Dog found out about. He wasn't happy about it, but didn't blame me. And the latter was that guy who refused to sell me a robot that one time, and who apparently had since used his robots to combat the Enclave.

Supposedly, he was killed somewhere out near the Fairfax ruins. Some of his robots were destroyed, others merely scattered. No-one knows for sure what happened to them. Likely they're either dormant somewhere, rampaging across the wastes in that area, or under Enclave control. None of those possibilities are particularly appealing to me. That's a problem I should deal with at some point.

Tomorrow though, we head out again and move for Megaton.

**Day 101: Arlington.**

Long journey back to Megaton. Made it there at midday.

The Burnmaster, Shocker, Zhu-Rong and Sydney's SMG were all stored away to stop weighing me down, making my armoury now officially big and diverse enough to allow me to conquer the entire wasteland, and I gave Moira her library archives, just like she wanted. Surprisingly, she paid me in bottlecaps this time. Usually my reward is some kind of clothing or medical supplies. Hell, my last task was paid for in pulse grenades.

Still though, I now have my final task. Research the history of Rivet City. And that'll be easy. I just have to ask Pinkerton.

After that, we immediately turned back towards the Citadel. Only again, we didn't go the direct route, and instead headed through Grayditch and into Marigold again, so that we ended up back in Falls Church. The reason? Because there was one final tunnel that way which we didn't explore last time, so this time we did.

We exited exactly where I expected us to. Arlington cemetery. I found this place once before, but only marked the place I emerged and then went back through the tunnels to go back to eastern D.C. and continue exploring there. This time though, I intended to check out Arlington itself.

I marked the area near my exit as Arlington Cemetery South, in contrast to the entrance I last used, which was marked Arlington Cemetery North. I went straight to the north end from there and looked around that place. There I found another tunnel that led out of the Arlington area, also so far unexplored, but I'll get to it later.

There was a dead Regulator as well, and on him, a bounty notice for a raider named Junders Plunkett. I found the man in question living in a house right in the middle of the cemetery, where I killed him. I made sure to get his finger, to bring back to Sonora later on. I also took his spiked knuckles as another trophy, since I don't get to keep fingers.

We're staying in the Arlington house last night. I found something there. Aside from the usual lot of ammunition, medical supplies and the like that is. A bobblehead. This one is dedicated to, of all things, luck.

At first I thought that was some kind of joke, until I realised. The bobbleheads were based on SPECIAL! Or some of them were, anyway. When I was a baby, I had this book that was called "You're SPECIAL!", which was a typical baby book, and it tried to boil down the main positive traits of humanity into an acronym. SPECIAL.

The S was for strength, P for perception, E for endurance, C for charisma, I for intelligence, A for agility, and L for luck.

I always found it a little silly myself. Expecting babies to know what words like perception or charisma meant. Those would be big words for most young kids, though I guess I can't fault my dad for trying to teach me proper language early on. I was always much more eloquent than the rest of the vault kids.

And I'm more eloquent than most of the people in the wasteland too. So I guess that means intelligence is my virtue. Or charisma? No. Not charisma. Too many people hate me for it to be charisma. But I'm very well spoken all the same. I'm like dad in that way. He's rubbed off on me more than I thought.

Where did that come from though? Dad came from the wasteland, and yet most wastelanders have shit for brains and live in their own filth. How come he was still smarter than most of the people in the actual _vault_? Where did he get _his_ education?

I asked Cross about that, but she just told me he learned from "the Followers of the Apocalypse."

Fine. If she's going to be sarcastic with me, then she can go fuck herself. I'm going to bed.

Obligatory inventory:

x1 _U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes_.

x1 _Big Book of Science_.

**Day 101 Part 2: Night Terrors.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: [Whispering.]** I couldn't sleep, diary. Well, I could sleep. Tell a lie. But I kept waking up. I've been having bad dreams...The others are all asleep right now. I don't want to wake them, but I felt the only way I could make it easier on myself was to make another diary entry. An audio one. The sound of my own voice comforts me. It reminds me that I'm physically here. And it's faster to just turn on the auto-transcribe and let it roll than type it all.

Line breaks still work. Good. I only ever use those when intentionally recording a diary entry aloud. Usually I just leave my recorder on all day, and if something interesting happens that I want to remember, I turn on this software, play that section of the tape, and embed the audio file and transcript as a diary entry while erasing the rest of the day's recording. Makes for some excellent entries. Moments that will last forever.

Don't like some of the quirks of the transcriptions though. Like how it doesn't indicate when actions like screaming or footsteps end, or how it can distinguish some types of weapons firing but not others. I especially don't like how it labels the sound as hissing whenever a power helmet is removed. It makes it sound like a snake's hissing. Really it's a different sort of hissing. Like...air escaping. It's hard to describe. I don't like the transcript label though. I should fix it.

I'm distracting myself. My nightmares. That's what was bothering me. I kept having nightmares when I fell asleep. I dreamed of Vault 101, dad, Amata, Jonas, the Overseer...Andy...and the security team. Officer Kendall in particular, my first blood. The one I beat to death with my baseball bat. And the security chief. Paul Hannon's dad.

What would Paul think of me now? I know what it's like to lose a father. I was devastated, but at least my dad sacrificed his own life to stop the Enclave. Paul's dad was _murdered_. By _me_. And of all the Tunnel Snakes, he was the one I always liked the best. Always seemed like a good guy just caught up in a bad crowd. And yet of all of them, it was BUTCH I left the vault on good terms with.

I dreamt about all of them. I was standing on the roof of this very house, and I watched over all of Arlington Cemetery. The graves opened up, but instead of the heroes of long ago, it was the vault residents that rose out of them. They had all been turned to ghouls. Feral ghouls. It was similar in imagery to those pre-war zombie movies. Then the vault residents all attacked each other. Dad was among them, and Amata, and Butch. The Overseer led the opposing side, and the ferals all had a melee in the cemetery. And then, out of nowhere, there was me. I was wearing Ashur's power armour, backed up by hundreds of soldiers of the Brotherhood of Steel, and we opened fire and killed everyone. Then the dream gave way to a battlefield. It was no longer the cemetery, but Anchorage. Me and the Brotherhood up against a thousand Enclave troops. And at the height of the battle, there it was. A mushroom cloud in the distance. I heard the sound of that woman from the holotape, from the family that were going to get into that bunker. Then the heat washed over us. The ice melted, the Geiger counter went crazy, and then everyone was dead. Except me. I raised my hand to look at it, and then...nothing. Then I woke up in cold sweats...**[Long pause.]** I- Oh wait.

That was a long wall of text. Remember to line break next time. Sorry. Anyway.

I don't know what to make of the dream. It was...unique. Uniquely terrifying. And I'm not really certain how I should interpret it since I'm not a psychologist. My medical training never covered that. If I had to guess though, I think it's some long overdue guilt for killing all those people back in 101. Because that's where the madness started. And that's where the downward spiral really began.

I just realised how much I miss them all. Well, not all. I could do without...most of them. Amata though. I really, really miss her. She was my best friend for so long, even when I was such a difficult person. I was nice to her, but never anyone else really. They were all dicks, and I acted in turn. But she was good to me. And now? I don't think she could even stand the sight of me now. She's like Cross. She's a good person. Too good for me.

**Day 102: A True Patriot.**

There was just one last place before we could go. Mama Dolce's. A pre-war food distribution place. We thought it would just be standard scavenging through ruined buildings. And what did we find instead? Goddamn PRE-WAR CHINESE SPIES WHO SURVIVED THE APOCALYPSE AS GHOULS, AND WERE STILL. FUCKING. SENTIENT.

They even had a radio broadcast going!

I just couldn't believe it. Fucking ghouls. Fucking Chinese. Fucking commies. Fucking bastards who fucking destroyed the fucking world and made me and everyone else live in this fucking misery of a land.

It's not patriotism. It's not vengeance for the old world. It's a matter of principle. I kill scumbags who hurt others. And no-one in all the world hurt more people than these cunts did.

Really though, what do I do? These guys were the remnants of the Chinese military's presence in America, right? Well what are their American equivalents? Who are the remnants of the American government? The fucking Enclave. And they're the biggest villains of them all.

I can't show any love for pre-war America anymore. Its citizens and people, maybe, but the country itself was ran by fucking assholes who blew up the whole world over oil, and then came along two hundred years later to enact genocide on the citizens of their country that survived the holocaust _they're_ responsible for.

So FUCK IT.

I CAN'T get behind what remains of old America, and I CAN'T support the scum-sucking lowlifes of the Chinese remnants either. WHAT is there left for me to believe in?! Was there NOTHING in the old world worth saving?!

Maybe not. But the Capital Wasteland is its own country now. We may have had our roots in old America. Monuments to pre-war glory and the heroes of the old world are all around us. From the Jefferson, Washington and Lincoln memorials, to the Capitol Building, and the National Archives and Museum of History, but we are NOT defined by our past. We can live beyond it.

That's what I want to see. I want to see a land that doesn't try to be the America of old. It can live on through the spirit of its people. The virtues that the country was founded on can remain. But we don't need to repeat the same mistakes it made. There won't be another Enclave. We're going to wipe away their kind, and end these atrocities. And we're going to make this land what it always should have been. The dream that America aspired to, not the nightmare it became.

The best way we can honour the past, is learn from it.

**Day 102 Part 2: Sorry for my rambling earlier, by the way.**

We left Arlington at long last, and went through that other tunnel we had yet to explore. It was short, and when we exited it at the other end it left us right near Wilhelm's Wharf. Again.

I marked Mama Dolce's and the exit to that last metro tunnel on the map, and then we decided it was high time to head for the Citadel, apart from a brief aside where we crossed the Potomac river to slaughter an Enclave camp set up by Dukov's place. There was a deathclaw there, but we dealt with it. And the reinforcements that arrived afterwards.

Made it back to the Citadel soon after to sell most of my junk. Lots of weapons and ammunition, though I also got rid of several books which Yearling took. I gave her eight, six of which were from the usual lineup. _Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor_, _Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual_, _Dean's Electronics_, _Tumblers Today_, and two _Guns and Bullets_. This was in addition to the other two books I named in my last inventory.

And I sold four stealth boys. There was also a Quantum I picked up at some point, but I kept it, because I use those to made grenades.

And I returned those holotags. I've been told to keep an eye out for any more, but I don't think I'll have to. Other Brotherhood guys are usually on hand to deal with holotag collecting. And I have Cross with me now to take care of it too. So my part here is over.

After this, we're going back to Rivet City. I have to see a man about a history lesson.

**Day 102 Part 3: Checking in.**

Pinkerton provided a nicely comprehensive history for me. Moira will be pleased.

I tried to kill the Enclave soldiers at the Jefferson memorial when I passed, but there were way more of them there than anywhere else I've been. Every time I killed one, more would come to replace them. It's an impossible battle, even for me and my team. We'll have to wait until the Brotherhood is ready to storm the place with us.

**Day 102 Part 4: Got Bored. Raided Factories.**

Marie was still doing fine at the Citadel, but I was getting bored. Decided to go out and raid some more ruins. D.C. is practically empty now that I killed everything of interest, so I decided to go to the outer limits of the city and see what was in the Nuka-Cola plant.

It was interesting, to say the least. There were unique protectrons in Nuka-Cola brand colours acting as security, there was a unique strain of mirelurk living in the depths that were mutated by the ingredients of the Quantum and glowed blue, there was a dead guy with a note on him indicating that he had been hired to obtain the formula that the pre-war corporation used to make the cola, and there was a still operating mister handy shipping foreman.

Thanks to the foreman, I was able to get into the research department and steal the formula, because I intended to find the guy who was going to buy it off of the dead man and sell it to him myself, since the dead guy couldn't anymore. Which I later did, but that's skipping ahead.

I later discovered a room full of skeletons, and a note indicating that the foreman had left them to starve to death in there for breaking minor rules, like leaving the toilet seat up or taking long breaks. I killed Milo the foreman shortly after. If you can really "kill" a robot anyway.

And I got to read several terminal entries that gave a lot of insight into how the company was ran before the war. Packaging line instructions, marketing directives, progress reports on the development of the Quantum, and shipping instructions too. I found that Quantums were intended to be sent to the Super-Duper Mart, and Old Olney and Paradise Falls as well.

I think I already found the shipment that was going to Olney, come to think of it. That crashed truck I found. And there _was _a strangely large supply of Quantum in Eulogy's place when I raided Paradise Falls...

Hmm.

Whatever. Once I was done, I left the plant and met the guy who wanted the formula in front of the Red Racer Factory. He turned out to be some prick in a hockey mask. I'm pretty sure he was a raider. I sold him the formula anyway, but afterwards I thought better of it, killed him and his gang and took it back. And the mask.

And since we were already there, we also went into the Red Racer Factory to look around in there. It was full of ghouls, and on the upper levels, super mutants too. When we killed them though, the strangest thing happened; their heads just spontaneously exploded.

Once we got into the offices at the top, the reason became clear. A mad scientist by the name of the Surgeon was using brain chips to control ghouls and super mutants, and they detonated upon death. The explosives were meant as a precaution to protect the Surgeon, in case the subjects got unruly. Fortunately, we found a command terminal that allowed us to send a signal to kill them all at once.

The Surgeon was pissed when he found out. Fucker came at us with a rocket launcher. Three people in power armour though proved too much for him, and he died in a big blue explosion. One ghoul without a chip implant survived the purge. A glowing one called Stefan. We killed him too.

Then we looted the factory.

All in all, the day's work got us:

x1 _Big Book of Science_.

x1 _Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual_.

x1 _D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine_.

x2 _Dean's Electronics_.

x1 _Grognak the Barbarian _comic.

x1 _Guns and Bullets_.

x1 _Lying, Congressional Style_.

x1 _Nikola Tesla and You_.

x1 _Tumblers Today_.

x1 _U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes_.

x5 Nuka-Cola Quantums.

x1 stealth boy.

The Surgeon's lab coat. Yes, I ripped an old burned lab coat off a dead guy. I wanted a trophy. He was a good fight. It's what I do.

There was also an Enclave camp outside the Nuka-Cola plant that we wiped out, but it was barely worth mentioning. These guys were sloppy.

Both factories have been marked on the map.

We're heading back to the Citadel now.

**Day 102 Part 5: Back Again.**

Sold books. Sold stealth boy. Sold shitload of Nuka-Cola. Been making grenades.

Spending some time with Marie too. She's taken a liking to me for whatever reason. Scribe says she's less restless around me. Thinks that she might have been pining for me while I was away rather than her parents. That's both comforting and also very sad. I joked about it before, but if she really does see me as her father now, I don't know what I'll do. I am _not_ a parent.

I've been directed by the Brotherhood to go find Vault 87. There, I am told, I will find a G.E.C.K. They need it to activate Purity, and I don't think they're willing to risk their men trying to take back the purifier if there's no guarantee we'll ever get it to work. Plus, we don't want the Enclave to get to it first.

Looks like we have our next destination.

**Day 103: Published Author.**

Back in Megaton, and just delivered Moira a proper account of the founding of Rivet City. That's the final task for the third chapter completed, and finally, after months of research and writing, she has completed the _Wasteland Survival Guide_.

I'm proud of her. I really am. She achieved her dream, and I'm sure it's going to help a lot of people in the long run. For the final segment, she was only able to give me some mentats and a mini nuke, plus a copy of the book and a co-author credit, but that's fine.

The reason why it's fine is because she needs all the caps to "publish" the book. She's going to hire a bunch of guys to go out to the Hubris Comics printing press in D.C. and make copies of the book so it can be distributed across the wasteland. That's going to be costly, and she's doing it all out of pocket. I'm pretty rich though, so I contributed a large number of my own funds to the cause.

I have high hopes for this book.

I've put away the bobblehead, hockey mask, lab coat and spiked knuckles, and will be heading in the direction of Vault 87 shortly. I'm told we're looking for a village of mountain kids nestled away in a cave somewhere. The legendary Little Lamplight, where the people of Big Town come from. They might be able to get us in.

**Day 103 Part 2: Made It This Far.**

We've reached Fort Bannister, and can go no further today. We'll stay the night with the Brotherhood and continue tomorrow.

Nothing more of interest to report.

**Day 103 Part 3: OH WAIT.**

Yes there was, thinking about it.

An alien spaceship flew over us and exploded near Jury Street Metro Station, rained alien power cells over us, and also dropped another alien blaster.

Tsk. This old memory of mine is going with age.

**Day 104: Finding Little Lamplight.**

Went northeast today first, because there was a power station in that direction that we hadn't seen yet. VAPL-58. It contained the standard loot, and as always the inventory will wait until the end of the entry. There was a scavenger there, but he didn't have many caps, so we didn't bother selling our stuff to him. He was able to sell us lunch though.

North of that, I found a camp underneath a pylon, where some ghouls were set up. They tried to kill us, so Cross smashed their faces in. A rare example of one of my companions beating me to a kill. Glad to see her taking some initiative. However, searching the camp, I found a holotape.

And I can't even believe it, but the holotape was by none other than Alex, the soldier who stole the passcode to get his family into that bunker. And I finally have a name to put to the family too. The Kellers.

Unlike the other three, this tape didn't have a number, so I still can't get into that bunker, but I'm glad I can finally stop describing them as "that family trying to get into the National Guard Depot bunker."

Going west from there, we found the Jalbert Brothers Waste Disposal Site, which was irradiated and contained not much of interest, other than a deathclaw that we had to kill, and a drugged up merchant rambling about "the Great One" before he suddenly died on us. Had a note on his body too. Said he was going to "the green mountain" to trade with some weirdos who wanted him to drink something. I don't know. I'm more confused than anything.

North of there, we found a shanty town full of ghouls who also wanted to kill us, (I don't know what it is with the ghouls in this area), and we were sadly forced to wipe out the whole village.

Further west, we then found Everglow National Campground, which was an uninteresting campground, but there _was_ a three-way fight between raiders, Enclave and super mutants going on there that we got to join in. That was fun.

Then we continued west, arguably _too far _west in fact, and approached the area where Vault 87 was said to be on my Pipboy map. There were yet more super mutants there, and these ones were insane. They were led by a few of the giants with the tri-beam laser rifles that we were attacked by outside Arlington Library.

What's more, they were in the middle of the most heavily irradiated part of the wasteland I've ever seen. I don't think I could have survived more than a minute in that. I used up several packs of RadAway just standing at the edge of the place sniping at the mutants in middle of it.

Send a ghoul in there, you'd have an instant glowing one.

We retreated shortly after and headed south. Fortunately for us, that was exactly where we needed to go, because there we found the entrance to Little Lamplight, the village of children. It was tough getting in. They have a major prejudice here against adults, and don't usually allow them into the village. Fortunately, I'm very good with kids, so I was able to get myself and the others inside. The caves make good protection for these kids, and there's a surprisingly functional society going on in here with trade and food and everything.

We're stopping the night here for now.

I've added Everglow, Jalbert, Lamplight and VAPL-58 to the map, and I got the got the local merchant to buy all my extra guns and ammo off me, plus the two stealth boys I've picked up today. But that's all I sold.

I also collected three mini nukes and four Quantums today, (but as we know, I use those), and eight other books, including a _D.C. Journal_, a _Dean's_, a _Cover!_, a _Guns_, a _Tales_, a _Tumblers_, and a _U.S. Army_, and as we've already established, any books I collect go to the Brotherhood of Steel's Order of the Quill so that they may be preserved.

I want to explore this town a bit and learn more about it and the residents, but that has to wait for now. It's sleepy time.

**Day 105: Little Lamplight Proper.**

Spent today learning all about the town of Little Lamplight. Spent most of it trying to figure out how they replenish their population when only children are allowed. Haven't come up with an entirely satisfactory answer, but I think it's down to a combination of being the go-to safe haven for all orphaned wasteland children, and also some residents having children of their own towards the far end of their stay.

Residents can stay in Little Lamplight until the age of sixteen, so I'm told. However, there's one guy called Sticky here who is seventeen, and he claims the limit is eighteen. It's his birthday tomorrow. So the rules can apparently be bent for some, but not others.

With some residents getting to stay until they're old as eighteen, it's not entirely out of the question that some would sexually experiment and produce kids of their own before they had a chance to get kicked out. I see no pregnant teenagers anywhere around here right now, but that's no reason to suggest it never happens.

I'd really like to ask about it directly, but no matter how I try to phrase it in my head, I can't say it aloud without sounding like a creepy pedophile. So I'm just going to drop it. I can live with not knowing.

I've gotten to know most of the kids though. Mayor MacCready is the one in charge. He's twelve, rather foul-mouthed, and very take-charge. He's been running the town ever since he punched Princess in the nose.

Then there's Princess, which is a nickname, of course. Three years ago she was mayor for five minutes, but wanted to change the title to princess, before MacCready called her on her shit and punched her in the face, taking his rightful place, and relegating her to gate guard. I'm so proud of him for that. Princess is a little bitch. I'm glad I learned that about her so I could taunt her with that fact.

I shouldn't be picking on children. I know it's not fair. But you really wouldn't understand unless you met her.

Knick Knack and Knock Knock are twins. The former is the town merchant, who I sold my things to yesterday, and is an amiable enough sort. His sister tells terrible jokes, but I laugh at them anyway for her sake. She's the town's "morale officer". I told her a bit about my travels in the wasteland, since she asked. I think she enjoyed it.

Lucy is the town's doctor, who studied under Red from Big Town. She could be better, but she's way more skilled than most kids her age.

Zip is a crazed Nuka-Cola addict who annoyed me briefly today, who I think Lucy should really take a look at.

Joseph is the oldest kid in town other than Sticky, and also the designated school teacher.

Penny is his sister, and is coincidentally one of the child slaves that me and Charon rescued from Paradise Falls.

The other two kids we freed were there too. Squirrel and Sammy. Sammy was the one who told me about Princess and MacCready.

There's also a six year old girl called Bumble around who doesn't really do much, a kid with a speech impediment called Billy who sold me his "Wazer Wifle", and a little man calling himself Eclair, who has a very fancy hat and runs Lamplight's local restaurant.

He and Lucy both explained to me about Lamplight's primary food source. They live mostly off of a special kind of cave fungus that grows in here, but it grows best when meat is added to the pools. The fungus actually has properties that _reduce _radiation in a person's system. Valuable stuff. Eclair agreed to trade me fungus for meat to grow more fungus, and Lucy offered to trade some in exchange for Buffout, which she needs for medical purposes.

Hell yeah.

Also in terms of trade, Zip's offered me random junk that he's scavenged if I can provide him with Nuka-Cola, but I really don't want to go out of my way to feed his addiction for no reward. I did that once for Sierra, and I still kinda regret it.

That reminds me, I still need to stop by Girdershade and have her make me that pie.

I should also sum up my loot while I'm here. Yes, even here, I'm finding loot. Though not the traditional kind that I get from ruins. I'm not stealing the town's supplies or anything. I did however find several holotapes that go a little way to explaining the history of the town.

Two were journals belonging to an elementary school teacher, that explained that she and eighty two other kids had came out to this cavern for a field trip on the day of the apocalypse. They had plenty of food and water, but several other staff and chaperoning parents kept disappearing after they went outside to get help.

Most likely, they died of radiation poisoning.

Then there were two diary entries for a kid called Jason Grant, explaining that even Ms. Delaney, author of the previous two journals, had vanished, and the kids were left all alone. So he decided to help organise everyone.

The second of his entries revealed what I believe is the start of the town's policy against allowing adults in. Grant found the vault at the back of the caverns, but some asshole inside told them that they were dead already, and refused to let them in. The kid seemed to take that personally, and decided that they didn't need grown-ups anymore, for anything.

The final tape I found is by some unknown Lamplighter, and that was written three months after the bombs dropped. It was at that point that the town was officially named, and when its inhabitants all collectively decided to name Jason Grant their first mayor.

It doesn't explain _everything _about the town, but at least I know how this bizarreness came about now.

And yes, since this is still technically the end-of-entry inventory, I got Billy's laser rifle, which I'm going to take back to Megaton with me as a souvenir, and I got a set of schematics from Knick Knack's shop too. He was selling plans for the bottlecap mine. Very specific ones too. Way better than the others. I downloaded them onto my Pipboy like I did all the rest.

I've asked around about entrances into Vault 87, and I've discovered that there is a pathway in through here. Two in fact. One goes straight into the vault, and the other requires that I pass through some more caverns first and fight a whole lot of super mutants.

Even though I know which one is easier, I think I'm going to have to take the route with the super mutants. I wouldn't feel right letting super mutants live so close to a village of children. I'm told they can't get into Lamplight and that it's all safe, but I don't trust it.

Vault 87 will have to wait at least another day though. Sticky's upcoming birthday means he'll get kicked out of the village _tomorrow_. He'll need to head to Big Town, but he's helpless, and will need an escort. Looks like I'm needed again.

I dread what awaits me in the morning.

**Day 105 Part 2: Nightmares Again.**

I want to go home.


	16. Week Sixteen

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Sixteen**

**Day 106: Sticky.**

I refuse to believe this manchild is only a year younger than I am. I was eighteen _very _recently, and I don't remember being this much of a shithead. I'm forced to conclude that whatever condition he has is unique to him.

Just as I promised, I'm escorting him to Big Town. And boy, do I ever regret promising it.

It's taking all of my willpower to not cave in Sticky's skull with the closest brick, and Charon's being polite and quiet, but I can tell what he's really feeling right now. It took weeks of hanging out with him, but there are subtle facial twitches you pick up on that will let you know when the same expressionless face is actually conveying true apathy, or if it's attempting to hide his barely contained rage.

I hope I don't murder Sticky before we reach Big Town.

**Day 106 Part 2: Cross is a fucking BEAST.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Man 20: **OH GOD! **[Screaming.]** OH GOD, OH GOD! MY LEGS! I CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS!

**Star Paladin Cross: **SHUT UP. SHUT UP. **[Laser pistol firing.]**

**Man 20: [Screaming.]**

**Star Paladin Cross: **NOW ARE YOU GOING TO BE QUIET, STICKY?!

**Sticky: [Whimpering.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **...Cross, that was harsh.

**Star Paladin Cross: **I'm aware. Perhaps now, he'll learn not to run his mouth.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **I never knew you were so sensitive.

**Star Paladin Cross: **I'm not. He's_ special_.

**Lone Wanderer: **Amen.

**Sticky: [Whimpering.]** ...Y-You shot m-me in the balls!

**Lone Wanderer: **Suck it up, man. Charon doesn't even _have _balls anymore, and you don't hear him complaining.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **It's true.

**Sticky: [Crying.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **...Yeah, seriously though, Cross. Don't do this again.

**Star Paladin Cross: **I apologise.

**Lone Wanderer: **Bit of an overreaction.

**Star Paladin Cross: **You heard what he called me.

**Sticky: [Crying.] **I'm s-sorry...**[Crying.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **Let's just all agree that there will be no more shooting of testicles today. Okay?

**Star Paladin Cross: **Agreed.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Aww...

**Day 106 Part 3: We've Arrived at Big Town.**

Sticky was glad to be finally among friends and away from the crazy woman that shot him in the balls. Maybe in future he'll be a little more careful about what he says to people. I mean, we did give him fair warning that he was getting on our nerves, but for some reason he thought that this was an invitation to continue running his mouth.

Some people have no survival instincts.

**Day 107: Back in Lamplight.**

Took us a day to get from here to Big Town, thanks to Sticky getting himself caught up in things and causing problems. Took us a day to get back too. Though this time, that was because of a new distraction.

You probably won't believe this, but we met a friendly super mutant today.

He called himself Uncle Leo. He doesn't know why. It might have been his name back when he was a human, but he isn't sure. He tells me that super mutants aren't actually born, but rather created in a "cold, metal place" by other super mutants, using human captives. That surprised me, actually. I knew super mutants had a tendency to take human prisoners, but I thought they just ate them.

Leo has taken to wandering the wasteland, since his brethren would have killed him otherwise. He tried to get them to stop converting humans into mutants, and make them stop the violence, but they took issue with that. So now he's pretty much all alone in the world.

I offered to let him come with us, but he's content to continue his journey instead. Other people might need him, and he's still determined to find some meaning to his life before he dies.

I thought he might have been the super mutant that saved those people from the Enclave that Three Dog mentioned. I asked him, and he said yes. Though he seemed rather disappointed with himself over killing those Enclave soldiers. I think he's normally a pacifist.

It was so strange. Here was me thinking that all super mutants were monsters, without exception. But here was the proof I was looking for that there's more to them than that. They were like us, once. Former humans, and still with just that little spark of intelligence in them. And as Leo demonstrated, sometimes that spark can be strong enough for the fires of humanity to be rekindled.

Maybe it's inaccurate to say that the whole super mutant race can be saved. I still think this will most likely end with their kind wiped off the face of the wasteland. But if this proves anything, it's that super mutants are not an entirely lost cause.

In addition to that, we had another Enclave skirmish ourselves. It happened near the entrance to Vault 87. We went by that place instead of going straight back to Lamplight. Another vertibird flew by and dropped off some soldiers. We had to fight them right on the edge of the irradiated zone, and a bunch of super mutants got involved too.

I had to use a lot of RadAway after that, though Charon had no such complaints. In fact, he was making a lot of sighing noises and quiet moans. Cross kept looking at him funny. If she doesn't already know that he gets off on it, she probably at least suspects now.

Poor Charon.

**Day 108: Vault 87.**

Alright. We're in Vault 87. We got through Murder Pass just fine, and cleared out all the super mutants in there. Or I did rather. The others stayed out of the way for now, because I wanted to practise my ninja skills. And I am an incredible ninja. Killed all the mutants in Murder Pass before they even realised I was there.

I think I'm going to continue with the sneaky snake action here in the vault too. It's not necessary, but it's a lot of fun. And I love wearing the stealth armour, even if Charon hates carrying my stuff for me.

While I'm here, let's also take opportunity to mention that I picked up a Quantum, a stealth boy, and two more books. A _Flamethrower Recipes _and a _Junktown Jerky Vendor_.

Once we're done with our break here, we'll head further into the vault to see what's up.

**Day 109: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 110: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 111: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 112: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.


	17. Week Seventeen

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Seventeen**

**Day 113: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 114: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 115: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 116: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 117: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 118: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 119: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.


	18. Week Eighteen

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Eighteen**

**Day 120: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 121: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 122: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 123: Fuck the Enclave.**

Jesus Christ, it's the 17th of December now! I was out for two weeks!

I'd like to write a journal right now, but I've only just woken up, and President Eden himself is calling me to go meet with him. I'll have to do this later.

**Day 124: Where To Even Begin?**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: **I hope this is still working...Yep. It is. Auto transcription's picking up. Thank Christ. I thought it was damaged.

**Man 21: [Uneven shouting.]** Glad to see your equipment survived, my friend.

**Lone Wanderer: **Indeed. Ha! "Uneven shouting". Interesting way of describing your voice, but then again I suppose this thing is limited...Hmm...

**Man 21: [Uneven shouting.]** Why did you just say

?

**Lone Wanderer: **FUCK. YOU. FAWKES.

**Fawkes: [Uneven shouting.]** ...I apologise if I have upset you.

**Lone Wanderer: **I'm overreacting. Don't worry about it. Just ignore whatever I say for the next few minutes. I'm going to make an audio diary entry.

**Fawkes: [Uneven shouting.]** If you say so. I will keep watch on the horizon. **[Loud footsteps.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **...Right. Summarising. Hoo boy. Got a lot to get through. Let's see if I can remember it all in order...

Right. So vault eighty seven. I ninja'd my way through the place slicing up super mutants and centaurs and anything else I came across. I of course picked up anything of interest I found, looked at working terminals, notes, shit like that. Tried to piece together the story of that vault. Basically, vault eighty seven is where the super mutants of the Capital Wasteland are coming from.

Let me explain. The vaults...See, they were never intended to save anyone. It took me a while to realise it, but there's a reason they're all fucked whenever I find one. Vault-Tec were playing us all. I think I already suspected back in the Citadel, when I studied the Brotherhood's terminals for information on vaults containing a G.E.C.K.

There was one vault it mentioned, seventy six I think, which it named as a control vault. That means it was built exactly to public expectations. Yet it was only one of seventeen to be made in such a way. All the others deviated from what people would expect. Why? Because they were performing experiments on the population. In that terminal alone, I discovered that the overseer of...one oh eight I think it was, had been selected because he was predicted to be highly likely to die very soon into his tenure. No mention of the cloning facility though. Guess the vault residents came up with that idea on their own.

My point is, they were experimenting on the vault populations. And after twenty years, they'd all exit the vaults and whoever it was that ran these experiments, might have been Vault-Tec, the American government, whatever, would compare results with the control vaults. This is why every single vault I found other than one hundred and twelve was dead. These experiments screwed them over. I'm thinking that my home vault might have been one of the controls. I don't really know though. Data was corrupted. And the fact that we live in a kind of dictatorship down there and that we've been sealed up for over two hundred years now suggests that we are being experimented on too. I guess one oh one was just one of the more successful experiments, whatever the experiment might have been.

I need to go back there at some time. This shit has me worried. All the other vaults died screaming thanks to Vault-Tec. Thanks to the American government. Thanks to...Son of a bitch. The American government. The ENCLAVE. It ALWAYS comes back to the FUCKING ENCLAVE. JESUS! **[Sighing.]** I need to calm down. The point I'm trying to make is, I don't think that the vault is safe anymore. They'd be better off getting out of there. Don't know how I'm going to make that happen though. Those doors are impenetrable. If only dad were still alive. He managed to get into the vault, even though it was meant to be sealed permanently and there's no obvious way from outside to communicate with the residents. How he did it, I'll never know.

Vault Eighty Seven, though? Their experiment was that the residents were being used to test something called forced evolutionary virus, or F.E.V. for short. It's what turns humans into super mutants, or if you're really unlucky, centaurs. From the description of it, I wouldn't be surprised if it were responsible for most of the mutant animals that roam the wastes too. I did think it was slightly strange that nuclear radiation just made all the animals weird looking rather than wiping out the species.

Uncle Leo's statement was accurate though. The super mutants take humans as captives and drag them back to Vault Eighty Seven. There, they throw them in these chambers and wash them with F.E.V. until a new super mutant is created. Sometimes they instead get centaurs, and then someone gets a pet. And this is why the Capital Wasteland is now crawling with their kind. It's the Enclave's fault. Of course. When is bad shit happening ever NOT somehow connected to the Enclave?

But while there, I made a new friend. Me, Cross, Charon and Dogmeat came across a room where the super mutants had trapped one of their own, and this one happened to be another friendly, like Uncle Leo.

His name is Fawkes. He got the name from a book he read. He tells me that he didn't actually start intelligent, but rather regained his humanity after being trapped alone for a long time with a vault terminal, from which he studied and became quite articulate. Much like Leo, he's something of a philosopher, and doesn't think very highly of his fellow super mutants. Though he doesn't like that term. He prefers to call himself a meta human.

_Unlike _Uncle Leo, Fawkes is more willing to take action. After I freed him, he helped retrieve the G.E.C.K. from the heavily irradiated area it was being held in, and he also joined me in fighting his brethren. And he was damn good at it too. I saw him beat one of the burly motherfuckers with the tri-beam lasers to death with his bare hands.

From what I understand, super mutants get stronger with age. The behemoths grow to such a large size because they're the oldest. Fawkes? He's over _two hundred _years old. That's right. Super mutants get stronger with age, and I'm friends with one who's been around since before the Great War. NO idea how he's not a monstrously huge behemoth himself, but there you have it. All the power of behemoth, packed into the body of an economy-size mutant. I mean it too; Fawkes is fucking ripped even by super mutant standards. I wouldn't have fancied Armitage's chances against this guy.

Anyway, that's eighty seven. After I got the G.E.C.K., I was knocked out. Who by? The Enclave, naturally. I awoke two weeks later in their main headquarters, which is known as Raven Rock. That bastard in the coat who was there when the Enclave took Project Purity turned out to have survived the radiation that dad unleashed on him. His name is Colonel Augustus Autumn, and he tried to interrogate me for the purity activation code. Which I didn't know.

The real interesting part though was that the president then called me up. I was released and given back my stuff, and told to go meet with the him. That was their first big mistake. Then came the second, when the Enclave broke out into civil war while I was still running free. Eden versus Autumn. Security robots versus troopers. A big fucking ZAX computer posing as a human being with plans of genocide, versus the biggest cunt in the wasteland this side of Roy Phillips. Battle of the century.

So who won? _Me_. I blew up Raven Rock and killed everyone inside. Eden is dead. Most of the Enclave's army is dead. Autumn is very likely dead. And those who managed to flee the smouldering remains of the base were gunned down by Fawkes as they left, who as luck would have it tracked down where the Enclave took me, grabbed a Gatling laser he found, and went on a rescue mission as an act of gratitude.

It all sounds so absurd when I say it, but it's all so true. Everything happened in quick succession. Village of children. Vault full of super mutants. Friendly super mutant in a cage. Retrieved the G.E.C.K. Captured by the Enclave. Enclave civil war. President turns out to be a sentient computer. I convince the sentient computer to blow itself up. Then Raven Rock goes up in flames along with half the Enclave. I've spent my every waking moment since leaving Little Lamplight fighting something or someone, and I'm honestly exhausted. You'd think being asleep for two weeks would do something to help the fatigue, but sadly that's just not the case.

Anyway. My other companions fled when the Enclave showed up. They're not so confident about going up against that many soldiers unless I'm there, so when they took me out, they had to beat a hasty retreat. I don't know what happened to them, and Fawkes says he didn't see where they went either. I'm worried for them. I don't know what we'll do.

We've set up camp here for now so that me, Fawkes and Nathan can get some rest. OH! Damn it, I forgot to mention. Nathan Vargas is alive! I was surprised too, but while inside Raven Rock, I actually happened across a side room where the old man was hiding out. Turns out the Enclave didn't slaughter him with the rest at that camp. They just captured him and took him back to base, possibly sparing his life for his misguided patriotism. He has since seen the error of his ways, and accompanied me in escaping the base. Didn't do much fighting. I gave him all my spare stealth boys, including one I found while inside Raven Rock itself, and just told him to hide whenever there was fighting.

Not to say he didn't help at all. He shot one or two soldiers in the back to help me a few times. He's actually a pretty good shot. I just didn't want him to get into a direct firefight with the Enclave soldiers when he had almost no protection and they were all in power armour. Hell, even I was at a disadvantage. I was in the Chinese stealth armour the whole time, after I left most of my equipment with Charon. I had to fight off half of Raven Rock using only the deathclaw gauntlet, the plasma rifle and a few Nuka grenades. I did have Blackhawk and the dart gun as well, but I was low on ammo for the former and the latter is incredibly pointless when fighting robots and power armoured Enclave troopers. Good thing most Enclave soldiers use energy weapons and thus carried ammunition for the plasma rifle, or I'd have been royally fucked.

Oh wait, that's not quite true either. I did also have a super sledge. Fawkes loaned it to me back in Vault Eighty Seven and never took it back, so that was good.

Fuck! I've forgotten some minor details again. Anna Holt from Project Purity was also in Raven Rock. She betrayed us to the Enclave and was working with them, after having told them all the secrets of the project. Thank the Lord she didn't have the activation code, or she'd have given them that too. And then the stupid bitch confidently assumed that I wasn't going to kill her over it. If she'd shown some remorse, I might not have. Instead though, I broke both her legs with the super sledge, did the same with her arms, used the deathclaw gauntlet to remove her eyes, and told her I wasn't going to mercy kill her until she apologised. She did so, even though it was hard to make out through the tears, and then I set her on fire and left her to it. Looking back on it, I'm not sure if I was harsh enough.

Anyway, that's everything. I think. After me and Nathan left Raven Rock, and reunited with Fawkes, we headed in an eastern direction. We're way north right now, but fairly close to Fort Constantine, so we figured we would head there. We didn't reach it though, and instead settled at an old SatCom array after we cleared out the previous residents, who were Enclave soldiers and some ghoul scientist. She had originally hired some Talon mercenaries to help protect her while she tried to use the tower to seize control of a pre-war orbital weapons platform, until the Enclave stepped in and took control of her experiments, Project Purity style. So we killed her and the Enclave troops, and have taken residence here instead. Standard stuff.

To round up the less interesting parts of the day, I've collected four more books, those being a _Nikola Tesla and You_, a _Pugilism Illustrated_, a _Dean's Electronics _and a _Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual_. Some came from Vault Eighty Seven, while others did not. I got another bottle of Nuka-Cola Quantum. I happened across a bobblehead in Raven Rock, and there were some more dart gun schematics in this power station we passed on the way here.

Raven Rock, MDPL oh five power station and SatCom Array NW-dash-oh-five-A were all added to the map as well. Looks like I'll get to scout the northwestern regions of the wasteland for Reilly after all.

Am I done yet? ...I think that's everything. I hope it is. A lot of shit happened today and I just want it all to be over and done with. It looks like that's everything though. Fuck. That's a massive entry right there. Still, at least I got everything down. It would have been a nightmare to type this all up with the Pipboy's stupid fucking tiny keyboard.

Right now, I just want to sleep, but before we do that we still have a few tasks to take care of around here. Fawkes is on lookout right now, and Nathan's scavenging the place for parts. I want to repair the damaged broadcaster on my Pipboy. If I can get it to work, I want to send out a signal, and see if I can find my friends. Hopefully they'll be able to find us at this station.

That's all for now. Lone Wanderer, signing off.

**Day 125: Damn it.**

The destruction of Raven Rock took Enclave Radio offline, and Three Dog found out pretty quickly what was going on. Turns out that explosion when the base blew up could be seen all the way from the southern end of the wasteland. News of my survival was also on the airwaves before I even started broadcasting, and apparently both my allies and enemies have mobilised to come after me.

An Enclave camp southwest of the SatCom array decided to assault our temporary residence after my broadcast went out, and they also called in some vertibirds from somewhere else. The Enclave are pretty pissed about the destruction of their main base, and we were forced to activate Highwater Trousers to fend off the invaders.

Highwater Trousers by the way is the orbital weapons platform that the ghoul scientist and the Enclave troops here were trying to take control of. They were very nearly finished with it, but when we attacked, they were still having problems with it. The things were perfectly capable of firing, but they couldn't yet aim them anywhere but directly outside of the SatCom array. Problem for the Enclave, but a godsend for us when we were low on anti-Enclave firepower and under attack.

Charon showed up just after lunchtime. He wasn't looking so good. He tells me that after the Enclave attacked in Vault 87, the Enclave dragged me away while him and the others had to take cover while under heavy fire. Supposedly, the Enclave brought out their very best to exterminate my companions, and they had to use most of their Nuka grenades and all the ammunition for most of their weapons and mine to fight their way out.

Fawkes separated and smashed his way through the Enclave forces to pursue my captors through Murder Pass and Little Lamplight, which is where he picked up his Gatling laser and a second super sledge after he gave me his last one. Charon, Dogmeat and Cross meanwhile were still overwhelmed in the lower levels of the vault, and had to escape through the main entrance.

This is where things get complicated, because the Enclave then chased the three of them out into the heavily irradiated area outside. Cross and Dogmeat had to bolt it out of there as fast as possible, taking our entire RadAway supply with them, and Charon basically had to fight off several Enclave hellfire troops by himself.

Fortunately, the radiation was heavy enough that he was able to regenerate his wounds almost at the same rate the Enclave were giving them to him, and the whole thing became a contest of endurance. He just stood there and soaked up damage, hoping to outlast them. Eventually it paid off, and the hellfire troops dropped dead from radiation poisoning, and Charon was able to get out and meet up with Cross and Dogmeat again.

I'm told that if he weren't channeling all the excess radiation into healing several _thousand _bullet and laser wounds at once, he'd have become a glowing one several times over before the fight ended.

It's special moments like that that make you realise how much of a badass Charon is.

Anyway. Charon and Cross separated after that. He tells me that Cross took Dogmeat and headed back to the Citadel, trying to rally some Brotherhood forces to come up this way and assist in the fight. He was given the job of tracking me down and making sure the Enclave didn't kill me. Unfortunately, the Enclave have air travel, so it was hard for him.

He's been wandering the northern wastes for a while now, but he hasn't been able to make as much progress in his search because he wasn't able to take on too many soldiers at once without me and the rest of the crew, so whenever he came across Enclave camps or other places I might have been, he had to stealth it and look around for me discreetly. Really, it's entirely because of that that Fawkes beat him to Raven Rock.

I've received word from the Brotherhood though, and Cross is coming up to meet us right now with a few paladins. Nathan's anxious to get home again too, particularly after yesterday's battle. This whole place is chaotic. Having been out of comission for two weeks, I need to get back down south to make sure everything's okay.

I'm especially worried about Little Lamplight. Fawkes doesn't even remember running into any children when he passed through the caves, and frankly I'm terrified by the implications.

I scouted the area around the array though. Found another Enclave camp up near Constantine, which I exterminated. I also came across another wastelander wandering around near the power station we went to yesterday. Sadly, he was killed before I could get to him. Radscorpions.

And not even the usual variant. These ones were albinos, and for some reason were much harder to kill. Wonder why I'm only just now encountering these? My gut instinct tells me that the existence of the albinos is probably the Enclave's fault, but I haven't seen anything to support that yet. Unlike deathclaws, I have yet to see these hanging around Enclave camps with mind control helmets on.

The pre-war map indicates that there are a few landmarks to the south and southwest of here that I've yet to visit, and which may have something interesting. Charon mentioned Enclave camps he had to sneak around in that area, so I think it's high time we went back there and wiped them out.

Oh, and Charon's return also brought with it the rest of my equipment, so happy day, I'm back in power armour!

**Day 126: Scourge of the North.**

Ventured out southwards today. The first thing we came across was a broadcast tower. As it turned out, that area was a hive of raider activity. At the tower itself, we came across what I think was a raider initiation ceremony, where four raiders beat the new guy repeatedly to induct him. Of course, he didn't thank me when I killed the other four, and just shot at me, so I had to pull his tongue out.

We found a small raider camp and a ruined pre-war house nearby, both of them inhabited by the same gang, and we cleaned the place out. One of them had a missile launcher, but they were hardly any trouble.

Nearby, there was also an entrance to a large system of caves, which appeared to be some sort of sanctuary or breeding ground for deathclaws. The Enclave had set up a camp there, naturally staffed by not just the regular soldiers, but also some scientists and some of their controlled deathclaws.

It wasn't just Enclave deathclaws we had to worry about though. The regular kind also pestered us quite frequently both outside the caves and when we went in to explore. We figured that it was likely the Enclave were here to capture specimens, and so they had likely ventured into the cave as well. We went inside with the mission of killing any Enclave soldiers that happened to be down there.

As it turned out, there were no living Enclave soldiers down there. Just a bunch of dead ones and a whole load of deathclaws. Somehow, don't ask me how, we killed all the deathclaws in the cave and got out with zero casualties. Nathan Vargas wet himself. Not even kidding. It was pretty gross.

Worth it though. We found plenty of interesting loot down there. Though, I'll get to that later.

Then we found a ruined chapel just a little ways east, where some lunatic drifter started shooting at us with a sniper rifle. We had to kill him before we could move on, so I whipped out my own sniper and shot him in the eye. It was quite a distance, but V.A.T.S. can turn anyone into a decent sniper, and I've had plenty of practice.

Remarkably, when we reached the chapel and found the body, I discovered that the eye I had shot him through was his only good eye. His other was covered by an eyepatch. And yet, he was using his patched eye to look through the sniper scope somehow. That doesn't even begin to make sense.

He had a nice rifle though. It wasn't a standard model. It was similar, but I think it's a slightly more advanced make than the common snipers. Slightly faster firing, more accurate to aim and definitely more durable, though with a smaller magazine capacity. I decided to replace my regular sniper rifle with this one.

He also had on him a holotape which gave map coordinates, though to what I do not know. It's north of here somewhere, in the mountains. I'll check it out when I find the time to, but right now we're still heading south.

And he wore a hood, which I've not yet seen anyone in the wasteland wearing. I took that as well. It might be useful at some point.

From there, we headed to the Silver Lining Drive-In, as we had spotted a vertibird land over there. We found an Enclave soldier accompanied by a robot where it landed, and shot him twenty six times before he knew we were there. Then we went back towards the chapel and started exploring a nearby campground, but there was nothing of interest there.

It was around that time of day that we finally got a call from the Brotherhood of Steel. Cross and her paladins had gathered near a SatCom array to the west. Not the same one as before though. SatCom array NW-07c this time.

When we arrived, we found the Brotherhood scavenging the place, which was full of dead Enclave soldiers and scientists. The SatCom array used to be another Enclave outpost, but the Brotherhood slaughtered everyone there before Cross called me up. She was very pleased to see me again, and even more so when I gave her the locations of all the other Enclave camps and bases we'd attacked and cleared out over the past few days.

The paladins here will likely be sweeping the northwestern Capital Wasteland for the next week or so to collect any Enclave tech we left behind, but Star Paladin Cross has instead decided to rejoin us. In exchange for one party member, we had to give up another, and Nathan Vargas has decided to stay with the paladins until they're done with their job here and can escort him back to Megaton, mainly because, like them he is extremely uncomfortable around Fawkes..

We're staying the night here for now, but tomorrow me, Fawkes, Charon and Cross will be continuing south. Dogmeat, I'm told, was left at the Citadel along with Marie. I look forward to seeing them both again.

To round up, Broadcast Tower KB5, the Deathclaw Sanctuary, Dickerson Tabernacle Chapel, Mount Mabel Campground and this SatCom array have all been added to the map, and in terms of loot, I've collected four mini nukes, a Quantum, a stealth boy, a bobblehead I found in the deathclaw sanctuary, a Grognak comic, and eight books. Seven were from the usual collection; a _Science_, a _Cover!_, a _Guns_, a _Tesla_, a _Pugilism_, and two _Tumblers_.

There's also some weapons to take into account. Not just the sniper rifle, but also a very nice weapon called a ripper, which is a kind of hand held chainsaw made especially for combat purposes. I've come across them before, but I always decided against using them, mainly because the small components that help it operate deteriorate with use, and it's hard to find replacement parts. This one however looked to be a special Enclave model, designed with higher damage rates in mind, so I took it along.

I found it on a dead Enclave guy in the sanctuary, but that wasn't the only thing I found either. I also got a Gatling laser of my own. VERY happy about that. They're heavy things and eat up ammo quickly, but I can't doubt the effectiveness of a minigun that shoots lasers. There were a few in Raven Rock, come to think of it, but at the time I just wanted to escape and paid no mind to picking up Enclave weapons, other than searching for cells for my plasma rifle of course.

I think that's it for now. I've done enough damage out here. With all the soldiers I've gunned down, all the robots I destroyed, the deathclaws I killed, the camps I wiped out and even blowing up Raven Rock itself and killing their president, maybe NOW the Enclave will know better than to fuck with me.

I doubt it though.


	19. Week Nineteen

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Nineteen**

**Day 127: Bizarro Grayditch.**

Fuck me. It's started snowing. This is the last thing I needed right now.

We set out today as I said we would, following the road southwards and in a slightly eastern direction too, until it deposited us near some sort of fortification made out of old cars. It used to be a raider camp by the looks of it, but all of them were dead when we got there. I suspect wild animals to be the culprits. Looks like yao guai going by the bite marks I found in my impromptu autopsies.

I didn't like them too much. Far too stringy, and even after I cleaned them they still tasted vaguely of engine oil.

Southwest of there, we then discovered an amazing thing. A little place called Shalebridge, where there were two different colonies of giant ants fighting with each other. One colony was the standard type I always see in the wasteland, but the other? The other colony was friendly. Just like the yao guai in that cave we came across, they didn't mind us at all.

I grew rather attached to the friendly ants in the short time we were there. They were foragers, rather than hunters like the other colony. Essentially pacifists. And I don't know why, but I just felt compelled to protect them, as I would wastelanders or slaves. To that end, me and my party helped wipe out the opposing ant colony and its queen, giving the foragers control of Shalebridge and its tunnel system.

Bunch of them on the surface all seemed to gather around a toxic waste barrel there for some reason. Weird.

I plan to inform Doctor Lesko in Grayditch of the existence of Shalebridge. This ant colony is a very unique entity in the wasteland, and I think it'll be a valuable learning experience for him. Lord knows, I'm far too busy to stay here and play scientist myself, much as I would like to. And perhaps this might be a chance for him to redeem himself for that whole fire ant incident.

The queen of the hostile colony also had more pheromones for me to harvest. Can't let anyone else get these. Too valuable. Too rare. And far too useful to me.

We went east of there and eventually came across a small raider camp in amongst a whole bunch of trucks. The pre-war version of my map identifies this area as Five Axles Rest Stop. We decided to stay here a while to get out of the snow, so I'm now writing this entry to pass the time. It's cold out here, but at least inside this truck there's not quite as much wind.

We are NOT staying the night here though. It's absolutely fucking freezing regardless of trucks or the heating systems in our power armour, and the ant caves in Shalebridge weren't much better. There's a place called Rockbreaker's Last Gas south of here, and we're going to head there once the others are ready, which might be soon.

Shalebridge, the abandoned car fort and Five Axles were all added to the map for Reilly.

As for loot we found:

● x1 _Big Book of Science_.

● x1 _D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine_.

● x1 _Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor_.

● x1 _U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes_.

● x1 stealth boy.

● x1 mini nuke.

I'll probably write a second entry later in the day.

Side note: Heard on the radio that Scott died a couple of days ago. That's depressing.

**Day 127 Part 2: Rockbreaker's Las Gas.**

Told you I'd write a second entry.

We made it to Rockbreaker's just fine, but not without incident.

First of all, before we actually even headed south at all, we heard gunshots coming from slightly northeast of Five Axles, under the highway. Heading up in that direction, we found a wastelander running away from a bunch of guys shooting at him. We saved his life, and he was grateful and managed to get away just fine, but what struck me most was that I happened to recognise the men trying to kill him.

I purchased breakfast from them once. They sold me and Charon some meat way back when, a little while after Zeta I think, when we both found ourselves starving to death as we roamed the northern wastes. I remember Charon complaining about the taste of it a lot, while I thought it was delicious. They even had some of the same meat on them when we killed them.

And that's how I figured out that they were roaming cannibals, hunting their prey. That certainly gave me a lot to think about. For one thing it meant I was eating and enjoying human flesh long before I thought I was. For another it means that Charon has unknowingly consumed it too, and I'm not sure whether to tell him or not. And it also makes me feel conflicted about killing them, because I feel a certain kinship with them now.

Then again, they WERE trying to murder someone.

What is it with other Capital Wasteland cannibals, anyway? There are plenty of raiders around the place that no-one would miss. If they didn't keep feeling the need to terrorise small towns like the Family did, or lure in and murder travelers like Andale, or kill random wastelanders like these guys, I wouldn't have to keep doing this kind of shit.

Then there was an Enclave camp near Rockbreaker's when we actually got there, and we had to fight off those guys first. THEN some super mutants showed up and started causing trouble, and we had to kill them too.

Rockbreaker's itself turned out to not be very much, but on a nearby cliff we spotted a metal shack, so after I finished mapping Rockbreaker's we headed up there, and that's where we've decided to stay. It's drafty, but far better than Five Axles or Shalebridge as a place to stay.

It's also been surprisingly lucrative. Here alone we found copies of _Dean's Electronics _and _Guns and Bullets_, in addition to another pre-war book of little interest, a whole load of bobby pins for lockpicking old pre-war safes and the like, a stealth boy, another modified sniper rifle, except closer to the standard models than what the drifter was carrying, and the best part, the final tape I needed to get the code to the Keller family's bunker.

Yep. You heard me right. The holotape is addressed to Ralph and it's from his father, asking him to come over so that the rest of them can get into the "vault", and it reveals that the final number I needed was four. Next time I stop by the depot north of the D.C. ruins, I can get into that bunker and see what became of them.

Hell yeah.

I also found another Nuka-Cola Quantum.

**Day 128: Requiem.**

Snow had stopped for today, so we decided to chance making our move towards Little Lamplight.

The moment we got outside the door, we were immediately ambushed by an Enclave soldier and a sentry bot, who dropped in via vertibird. The vertibird itself got away while we were distracted, but we later saw two more flying overhead after we went west towards Broadcast Tower KT8, one of which was shot down by super mutants.

I don't know if the one that was shot down was the one that escaped us earlier that day, but I like to think it was.

The super mutants were swiftly dealt with, and we marked the broadcast tower on the map and proceeded to search it for anything of interest. Like many others of its kind, the tower had a small drainage chamber nearby, wherein we found three pre-war books including a Chinese army manual, and a mini nuke. This one in particular also interestingly had a secret hatch in the floor leading into another, even smaller room where there were some dead Chinese remnant ghouls, who presumably died of oxygen deprivation because the morons trapped themselves in their tiny bunker.

As we left, we also met a person I was really not expecting to see out here. Donovan from Reilly's Rangers showed up out of nowhere, fighting with some super mutants, trying to deliver a mini nuke to me. Apparently the Rangers heard through GNR about what happened with me and Raven Rock, and Reilly figured I could use the extra help since I was out here dealing with the Enclave and all.

Donovan couldn't stay with our party though, because he was needed back east for another job. I asked him to tell Reilly that we'd almost finished mapping the Capital Wasteland.

And then we got to Little Lamplight. And that's where the horror set in.

The whole village was empty when we got here. No blood. No bodies. No-one anywhere to be found.

This place is dead.

**Day 129: Ghosts.**

The four of us ventured into Vault 87 today, searching for what became of the Little Lamplighters. I searched the vault itself with Cross, and Charon and Fawkes checked Murder Pass. Nothing to be found though. The kids have vanished completely. We can't even tell what happened.

Lamplight being empty could mean any number of things. Maybe the children fled into the wasteland to escape the Enclave. Maybe they were all killed, and the Enclave actually decided to dispose of the bodies for once instead of leaving them out to rot. Maybe they were even abducted, and taken to Raven Rock or some other place. God I hope they weren't in Raven Rock...

There's nothing here though. The whole place is empty. There's nothing here but the ghosts of the past.

While exploring the vault again though, I did find something. Something I missed before. A terminal I didn't check, near the vault entrance in Little Lamplight itself. It's by a man who appeared to be going crazy and hallucinating that he was hearing the sound of children's laughter, and who was grieving over his lost son, Jason Stevens.

And lest we forget, just on the other side of that vault's walls was a cavern full of children maintaining a village.

I now have an idea of who it was that Grant and the others heard from the vault. The vault resident wasn't saying they were already dead and refusing them entrance. I think he thought he was hearing things, and trying to remind himself that his son was well and truly dead, unbeknownst to him killed by the F.E.V. experiments.

Honestly, fuck the Enclave.

**Day 129 Part 2: Letting Go.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: **Fawkes? You in here? Where are you, man? **[Footsteps.]**

**Man 22: [Through radio.]** ...Am I supposed to do now? Merrick and his team are obviously experimenting on people. Someone's got to put a stop to it. But how? There's nowhere to go and no-one to tell. Shit, what am I gonna...? Oh my God. They're coming...I...Tell my wife in Dorm E that I love her...I...**[Holotape beeping.]**

**Lone Wanderer: [Whispering.]** Fawkes? **[Holotape beeping.]**

**Fawkes: [Through radio.][Uneven shouting.]** Stupid machine...How you work this thing? ...This thing is stupid! Smash it! **[Holotape beeping.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **Fawkes?

**Fawkes: [Uneven shouting.]** Hmm. Yes, my friend? What is it?

**Lone Wanderer: **...What are you doing back here again?

**Fawkes: [Uneven shouting.]** ...I was just...searching around, to see if I could find anything of interest I may have missed the last time we were here.

**Lone Wanderer: **Uh-huh. What was that you were just listening to? **[Pause.]**

**Fawkes: [Uneven shouting.]** Nothing, my friend. Just an old relic, from a long time ago. **[Clattering.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **...You sure you want to throw that away? It sounded like it was something important.

**Fawkes: [Uneven shouting.]** We must all learn to, live beyond the past. Our destinies lie far away from here. There is nothing to be gained in...dwelling on things long lost.

**Lone Wanderer: **...What was your name? **[Pause.]**

**Fawkes: [Uneven shouting.]** ...Shelton. Shelton...**[Pause.][Groaning.]** Delacroix.

**Lone Wanderer: **You sure you want to give that up, Shelton? There might be no going back after this. Once we leave this vault, we won't leave it standing.

**Shelton Delacroix: [Uneven shouting.]** I...understand, my friend. But you, of all people, should know why we sometimes leave our old names behind. What was your name, Lone Wanderer? Surely...you have reason...to hide that?

**Lone Wanderer: **...Very well. I understand. But, Fawkes? If you ever need to talk, and if you ever want someone to listen, I'll be right here.

**Fawkes: [Uneven shouting.]** You, do me a great kindness, with your words. I will...not forget it.

**Day 129 Part 3: Ashes to Ashes.**

Vault 87 is no more. We set it to self destruct before we left, making sure to destroy the vault in its entirety, and take all those awful F.E.V. experiments down with it too. If the super mutants of the Capital Wasteland ever do regroup, they'll find no home base to return to, and there will be no more of them born. The mutants that are still alive right now are the last ones that will ever exist. I will make certain of it.

Sadly, this also had the effect of collapsing the Lamplight caverns. Despite all that though, I don't think it really matters anymore. That village is no more, just like that vault. I put an end to two hundred years of history today. So many lives began and ended under that mountain. So many stories could be told about it. And it's all over now.

In a way, I'm glad. It means we're closing this chapter of mankind's history. It'll mean an end to super mutants. It might mean an end to the traditions that forced Lamplight and Big Town to be separated, whether the children survived or not. And very soon, it'll also mean an end to the Enclave, the ones who caused all of this in the first place.

You know, maybe it sounds horrible to say it, but I'm going to say it anyway.

With how many of these awful people there were around back before the Great War, these disgusting pieces of human filth like the Enclave and Vault-Tec and Dr. Braun, I think that the holocaust was the best thing that ever happened to this country.

**Day 130: Girdershade Again.**

We made it as far as Girdershade today. Sierra still apparently has no idea that I killed Ronald, and so was happy to make that pie for us like she promised when I provided the ingredients. It...honestly wasn't very good, but it was a nice change of pace. It's not something I'd ever consider trekking all the way out here just for though.

Sierra also had a secondary job for us, in dealing with a heard of mad, diseased brahmin a little way west that she said attacked her any time she went near that area. They weren't hostile to us, because animals like me, but we put them down as instructed nonetheless.

And another thing I completely missed somehow that Sierra reminded me of, was that tomorrow is Christmas Day. It'll be my first Christmas out of the vault. I'm not sure what to do to celebrate. Should I get gifts for Fawkes, Charon and Cross? I don't know. What about Marie?

I gave Sierra something though. I let her have three bottles of Quantums that I'd gathered. I had to keep the rest, naturally. I need those to make more grenades. But she very much appreciated her early gift.

I should arrange to have some presents sent to a few of my familiar friends. I need to compile a list.

And I also wanted to note that the woman did not even bat an eye when she saw Fawkes for the first time. She just seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he was a super mutant, and cheerfully held an entire conversation with him as if he were just another guy. What is even the fuck?

**Day 130 Part 2: Christmas List.**

Alright. People to send gifts to.

1. Well, Lucas Simms was one of the first people in the wasteland I met that's still alive now. I saved his life from Burke, he gave me my house, and I kinda owe him after I stole his bobblehead that one time. **Suggested gift: **Some decent combat armour that he can wear under his Regulator duster, so he's better protected when next he gets into a fight with some bastard in a suit.

2. Agatha is one of the most genuinely nice people I've met in the wasteland, she saved my life once, which is a rare inverse of the usual circumstances I meet people through, and she lives all by herself save from the occasional visitor. **Suggested gift: **Perhaps some more sheet music if I can find any. If not, maybe some nice clothes. I have a few vault jumpsuits back in Megaton that are still in good condition. Those are comfy. Alternatively, Tenpenny Tower isn't far from here and usually has a nice inventory.

3. Moira Brown is one of my other oldest friends, and we worked together for a long time on that book. I'd consider us friends, and I bet she does too. **Suggested gift: **Something absolutely fucking crazy. She's given me so many absurd rewards for my work, I need to give her something equally bizarre, like introducing her to an intelligent super mutant or some- WAIT A SECOND.

4. Gob and Nova are pretty nice, and seem to like me. I should get something for them. **Suggested gift: **Since ghouls get off on radiation, I will hire a courier to retrieve that barrel of toxic waste from Shalebridge, or maybe Jalbert, and provide a supply of RadAway and Rad-X for Nova. That'll help their sex life to no end. You may think I'm kidding, but I'm not.

5. Reilly of Reilly's Rangers, who just recently sent a mini nuke all the way out here just for me. **Suggested gift: **I don't know how familiar she or the Rangers are with them, but some Enclave energy weapons probably wouldn't be unwelcome.

6. Harkness in Rivet City. **Suggested gift: **A pristine condition Enclave Gatling laser. As a security guard, he needs to armed and dangerous, and he gave me his best weapon last time I helped him out. Now I'll do him one better.

7. Diego and Angela, that young couple that I helped to get together. **Suggested gift: **I don't know. What _can _I get them? ...Hmm...I wonder where Ronald put that sleepwear after I sold it to him?

8. Sonora Cruz of the Regulators. **Suggested gift: **I think she'd benefit from the same gift I have planned for Lucas.

9. Three Dog. **Suggested gift: **A signed picture of me in a seductive pose, since he has such a massive hard-on for me. I kid. Seriously though, maybe a six pack of beer? Nuka-Cola? Carton of cigarettes? Can't really think of anything else he'd have use for.

10. Elder Owyn Lyons. **Suggested gift: **As it happens, President Eden forced me to take a sample of modified F.E.V. with me before he let me leave his room at Raven Rock, because he wanted me to at least consider his retarded plan to poison Project Purity and kill the whole wasteland. I'm sure that that, in addition to information on the origin of super mutants and news that they will not be reproducing anymore, will make him happier than any physical present could.

11. Sarah Lyons. **Suggested gift: **I'll get that bitch a missile launcher. Bitches love missile launchers.

12. Dogmeat. **Suggested gift: **A dead molerat. Those are his favourite.

13. Cross. **Suggested gift: **A better long range weapon that the heavy incinerator, since she doesn't like it much. Maybe a sniper rifle?

14. Charon. **Suggested gift: **I'll buy a bed for him so he doesn't have to sleep on the couch anymore when he stays with me at Megaton. No idea where to put Cross or Fawkes though.

15. Fawkes. **Suggested gift: **I will find a way to let him enter Megaton without being shot on sight.

16. Marie. **Suggested gift: **I'm sure I can scrounge around and find a stuffed bear somewhere out here...

**Day 131: Back at the Tower.**

Reached Tenpenny Tower and did some trading. I managed to get rid of a whole bunch of unnecessary weapons and chems and other junk I collect. Most of the time nowadays, I just leave that stuff for the Brotherhood, but even they can't get everything. And we're still weighed down by a lot of the loot I want to actually keep. I can't wait to get back to Megaton.

As luck would have it, I also found a lot of the stuff I was planning to send as Christmas gifts here, including a teddy bear for Marie. Though the teddy bear wasn't found in the tower itself. For that, they pointed me to a little building inhabited by some wasteland scavenger south of the tower. I also bought some nice shades I found in there off the same guy.

And I was able to hire some couriers to send off some of them right away. The gifts for Sonora, Reilly and Gob and Nova are already en route. I hope my efforts will be appreciated.

We can't stay here too long though. It's already late. Fawkes has had to hide outside all this time, and I don't want him out in the cold, even if he can take it. I want to get to the Citadel soon. The Brotherhood have already been briefed about Fawkes and his situation, so at least there we'll be able to get him inside.

Besides, I sure as shit do not want to spend Christmas at Tenpenny Tower.

**Day 131 Part 2: Rogue Robot.**

Jesus Christ, why can things never be simple?

So, immediately after we left Tenpenny Tower and started east, we came across this group of ghouls. They said that they'd originally been trying to get to Underworld, but there were super mutants in the way that they'd wanted to avoid, so instead they ended up heading in the direction of Tenpenny Tower.

They informed me that while doing so, they lost half their number to a rampaging robot that's prowling around the Fairfax/Andale region.

So then we had to go out and deal with this thing, and it was just astounding. There were Enclave camps set up on the highways north and southwest of Fort Independence, and a third one we found underneath a water tower east of Fairfax. All of them were wiped out.

Between the camps we found no less than eight dead Enclave soldiers, four dead officers, two destroyed robots including a sentry bot and a robobrain, and two dead _deathclaws_. And yes, it was all the handiwork of a single robot. What robot, you may ask?

Well, remember that guy Tinker Joe who refused to sell me a mister gutsy once? Because the mister gutsy didn't like the look of me? Sergeant RL-3 was the robot's name. Then also recall, that Joe led his robots into battle when the Enclave war first broke out, intending to take the fight to those bastards himself. And what happened to him again?

Yeah. Three Dog reported him killed some time ago, and his robots had scattered into the wastes.

Sergeant RL-3, the same robot that I once tried to buy, was the one that was indiscriminately massacring most of the southern Capital Wasteland.

Once we finally found the damned machine and met it on the field of battle, it became pretty clear why it managed to take down all those Enclave camps by itself. It was damn near indestructible. For a mister gutsy, RL-3 was incredibly durable. We'd have turned a sentry bot twice his size into slag with half the amount of Gatling laser fire me and Fawkes pumped into him, to say nothing of Cross's smashing it with a super sledge or Charon chipping at it with that shotgun.

In the end, Fawkes managed to destroy it when he tore the thing apart with his brute strength. We all sustained severe injuries, save for Fawkes who is indestructible in every possible sense of the term, and I'm pretty sure this maniacal machine must have killed dozens, if not hundreds before we managed to stop him.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

**Day 132: "Boxing Day."**

After spending last night in the ruins of Andale, which I have now confirmed IS in fact the most depressing possible way to spend your Christmas, we finally arrived at the Citadel early morning today.

We all received hero's welcomes for all our efforts, even though the battle is far from over.

Elder Lyons was ecstatic when I told him about the events that occurred in Raven Rock and Vault 87. The end of President Eden, the Enclave's main base, the super mutants' ability to reproduce, their main base, and the F.E.V. sample that Eden was counting on me putting into Purity means that the Brotherhood's two biggest enemies are more crippled now than they ever have been. All that's left is to finish them off.

It was nice to see Dogmeat and Marie again too. The gang's finally all back together now. Dogmeat appreciated his molerat. I found it and a few others attacking some wastelander near the Nuka-Cola plant this morning.

I took the opportunity while here to hand in the massive quantity of books I've collected in the wasteland to Scribe Yearling, who was pleased to see I had so many for her, and Cross had some holotags to drop off as well. The armourer also took off our hands anything we couldn't get rid of at Tenpenny Tower, and now I find myself with a need to get back to Megaton to store away all my other trophies.

And I of course got to see Sarah Lyons again, who's really warming up to me. I'm not sure she liked the missile launcher that much, but it's the thought that counts, and I think she recognises that. She and her father didn't have anything for me. The Brotherhood don't really celebrate Christmas the way I do. Or any pre-war holidays. That's just depressing. We always had Christmas in the vault.

Since it was close, I also stopped by Rivet City to give Harkness one of the Enclave Gatling lasers I picked up. Not the one from the deathclaw sanctuary. I like that one. But I gave him one of the spares I found in an Enclave camp. And I gave Diego and Angela that sleepwear that Ronald and several other people were fighting over.

They ended up feeling guilty because they didn't have anything for me either. Which was fine. I just like to get into the spirit of the season. Vault Christmases always emphasised that it wasn't about the present, but about goodwill towards your fellow man. And that's a fucking rare thing out in the wasteland, let me tell you.

Lyons and Dr. Li tell me that the Brotherhood have made significant repairs to Liberty Prime, the robot in the basement, and that they're ready any time now to take back the purifier. I'd join them, but I have some quick business to attend to before I can think about Project Purity. Need to get to Megaton for a start.

Oh! And good news! I just heard on GNR that Moira finally published the _Wasteland Survival Guide_. She's all done printing them, and now they're being distributed throughout the Capital Wasteland, mostly by caravan traders who sell them at a discount to anyone interested. Three Dog got a review copy ahead of time, and if the broadcast I heard is anything to go by, he thinks _very _highly of it.

I'll be sure to congratulate Moria next time I see her.

**Day 133: Great to be Back in Megaton.**

A lot of people were happy to see me still alive when I got back to Megaton. Sheriff Simms invited me and the others around for dinner again, after he stopped freaking out about Fawkes at least. It took some smooth talking to get everyone to relax the first time any of them saw him.

I gave him his gift too. Combat armour I picked up in Tenpenny. He was grateful for it, and I think it was a very unexpected gesture if his reaction was anything to go by. Moira was also excited to be meeting Fawkes, and also about the book getting distributed, though she's disappointed that it's too late to include an interview with a super mutant as a segment. Not that she didn't ask hundreds of questions and record it all anyway. "In case I write a sequel," she said.

As for a few of my other Christmas gifts, well...They're going to be a little late coming. But I have made arrangements. I've ordered Moira to get another bed for the house for Charon, and I was able to send Agatha's present to her through the caravan runners.

Cross I decided to give the sniper rifle we found in the shack, while I've taken to using the one the drifter used against us in place of my old rifle, which we sold off along with the heavy incinerator. Everything else that we picked up since the last time we were here was put in the lockers where it belongs.

That includes the hood, my new favourite sunglasses, the laser rifle that the kid in Little Lamplight gave me, the special Enclave model ripper, the Gatling laser I found in the cave, because I love it but it's too impractical to carry, Fawkes' original super sledge, because he's got another one now and doesn't need it anymore, but it's good to have a backup, and another thing I almost forgot I had, the third alien blaster, which is the one that fell from the sky when that spaceship exploded over our heads.

I've put the two bobbleheads on the stand too, and to my surprise, it seems like I've only got one left to find. And astoundingly enough, they're all unique. That just made my day when I realised that. Almost an entire collection without a single duplicate.

All in all though, I think the day went well. Tomorrow, I'll just have a quick peek in that Keller family bunker by the National Guard Depot, and then I'll be down to the Citadel to assist in the final battle against the Enclave.

And when I'm finished with them, the Potomac River will run red.


	20. Week Twenty

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Twenty**

**Day 134: A Dark Day.**

We made our way over towards the National Guard Depot today, passing through Grayditch on the way to see Doctor Lesko and tell him of the magical land of Shalebridge where he should go right away. He didn't of course, because he needed to pack his equipment first, but he'll definitely go to check the place out. I told him that I'll stop by there some time and see how his research is coming.

Met a scavenger there too, who was about to head out to Girdershade next, and purchased a Quantum off of him. I'm getting low on those, and I need as many as I can get to construct more grenades.

You know, it's funny. I never really considered Lesko a friend. In fact, back when I first met him, I was surprised with myself for not blasting his head off with a shotgun after he caused that whole fire ant problem that I had to solve, and inadvertantly orphaned Bryan. Yet despite the fact that Bryan just lives in Rivet City, which I visited much more than I do Grayditch, it's Lesko that I've kept more in contact with, and him who I've eventually gifted with exactly what he wanted for Christmas.

I hope I'm not making a mistake by giving him a chance at redemption. I'm nervous about it. I don't usually give bad people a chance to make up for their mistakes. I normally just kill them, even if they've stopped being bad. I killed Jericho because he _used _to be a raider. I killed Seagrave because he _used _to be a slaver. This whole forgiveness thing...It's a little new to me.

Surprisingly, me and the others made it all the way to the National Guard Depot before the day even ended. I reflected on all the times it took me an entire day to cover half that distance. I think I know why it's so much faster now, because I noticed it on the way there. No more super mutants. No more raiders. We don't come under attack from anyone. Not even a rogue vertibird. It's like we really did wipe the area completely clean, and it was a clear path to the depot.

I'm making an impact on this place.

Well, anyway. I'm avoiding the main topic. Yes. After months of anticipation, today I managed to breach the bunker and get into the Keller family's refuge. What I found aroused a strange mixture of feelings in me.

On the one hand, the bunker housed the single most amazing find of my wasteland career. Aside from the usual loot of ammunition, a _U.S. Army _book, a Quantum and no less than five mini nukes, I also came across a monsterously powerful experimental weapon called a MIRV. It's a variant of the Fat Man mini nuke launchers, designed to launch _eight _of them at once, and spread them across a large area. I must have creamed myself at the thought of how many Enclave soldiers I could kill with that.

But then on the other hand, there was the depressing fate of the Keller family themselves. All of them were dead when I arrived. The bunker was full of skeletons. Yet the worst part of all was the glowing one I found there.

Considering that neither of the brothers made it into bunker, and this one was a male as far as I can tell, I think it's safe to say that the glowing one was Mr. Keller, the father. Alive long after the apocalypse, ghoulified, feral, highly irradiated, and trapped inside a bunker with the skeletons of his long dead wife and daughters. I can't imagine a worse possible fate for the man. It was almost a mercy that I eventually came along to end his misery.

The apocalypse is full of tragic stories. I had hoped so dearly that the end of their story was a happy one, but optimism is for fools, and I was naive. I just wanted this one thing to go have gone right, but I guess that was hoping for too much.

Damn. This had just made me so moody. It's like all the joy has been sucked from my life. Is this what it took? After four and a half months, has the wasteland finally broken me?

No. Not yet. I still have to end the tyranny of the Enclave.

Once I put the remnants of the old world to bed, then I can rest too.

**Day 135: The Vault 87 Challenge.**

After we spent last night in the bunker, we went to see Reilly today. She had received her present, and thanked me accordingly, while also paying me for all the geomapping I had done.

According to her, I seem to have mapped every major location in the wasteland, with two anomalies. My map itself records exactly where I've been in the metadata, so the module and Reilly herself can tell the difference between a place I have been to and a place that I've just heard about and marked on the map.

She says that there are two locations I have marked on the map that I haven't actually been to. One if the entrance to Vault 87, the location of which I downloaded from the computer in either the Vault-Tec Headquarters or the Citadel, I don't even remember. I have been very near to it, and even been into the vault itself, but she says that unless I actually walk up to the door, (in the heavily irradiated area that took a direct strike from a nuke), the geomapper won't register it.

The other is a location to the north in amongst some mountains. I think I got the coordinates off that drifter in Dickerson Tabernacle. I'm not even sure what it is, but apparently there's something important up there.

Either way, Reilly says she can't give me the sixty caps for those until I actually go to them both. It's a stupid technicality, but she's sticking by it. So I guess I have some adventures left ahead of me, even after I do crush the Enclave. That'll be fun. Wading through the most heavily irradiated area in the Capital Wasteland so I can touch a vault door for thirty caps.

You know, it's hardly going to be worth it at all, and in fact it'll probably cost more in RadAway than it'll reward in caps, but I kinda want to do it anyway, just for the prestige and bragging rights.

Dear God, I had no idea I was this easily bored.

**Day 136: And We're Back.**

We made it to the Citadel again. Everyone's pumped and ready to go. The Brotherhood here cannot wait to start killing some 'clavers, and I can sympathise. We won't be doing it alone though.

Before we left headquarters today, I convinced Reilly and the rest of the rangers to assist us in the fight, promising to pay a large number of caps on behalf of the Brotherhood of Steel if they would accompany us in re-taking the purifier. They couldn't resist.

Fawkes, Charon and Dogmeat are going to be coming along as well. No way they'd miss out on a chance like this. And you'd better believe I'd be fighting too, especially since Sarah made me an honourary member of the Lyons' Pride. I was even offered a set of their power armour, but I turned it down. I still had the Enclave hellfire armour, after all.

They were concerned about the possibility of me being mistaken for an enemy though. Whenever I approach the Citadel, it's obvious who I am because of my entourage, and the fact that I have my helmet off. In a battle though, that might get confusing. To remedy that, Bowditch had some of his scribes repaint my armour. I'm not too fond of the choice of colour, (super mutant green), but it serves its purpose, and I'm still too scary for even the other Pride members to dare making fun of me.

While here, I also took the time to give Yearling the book I collected from the bunker, and sold my excess weapons and ammunition to the knight captain who runs the Brotherhood's armoury. In return, I purchased a very large quantity of plasma grenades.

It's rapidly become clear to me that I won't keep finding Nuka-Cola Quantum bottles forever, so I'm rapidly running out of supplies to make more Nuka grenades. To that end, I've taken back all of the ones I gave my companions for my own personal use, and equipped each of them with a supply of ten plasma grenades each instead.

And just to be sure everyone's covered in all their bases, I gave out a few more weapons. Charon's shotgun is old and weathered, so I gave him the Terrible Shotgun as a replacement and all my ammunition for it. And since Fawkes only has a Gatling laser and the super sledge, I needed to get him a more short range weapon, so I let him have my Xuanlong.

Me? I guess I'm going to have to make do with the plasma rifle and deathclaw gauntlet for the close range stuff. I'm probably not going to have to though. I've got the MIRV with me still, and I've sent off one of the Rangers to retrieve all the mini nukes I had stored back in my Megaton home. I'm going to blow the shit out of these guys.

Maybe me and Liberty Prime can have a contest, once he gets up and running.

Tomorrow is the day.

**Day 136 Part 2: Breaking the News.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer: **Cross.

**Star Paladin Cross: **Ah, there you are.

**Lone Wanderer: **Were you looking for me?

**Star Paladin Cross: **No. Just wondering where you were.

**Lone Wanderer: **Seeing Marie.

**Star Paladin Cross: **Ah.

**Lone Wanderer: **What about you?

**Star Paladin Cross: **I was speaking with Elder Lyons about tomorrow's attack. We were working out strategies for the assault on the purifier. Not that it will matter much with Liberty Prime by our side, but...Well. You know.

**Lone Wanderer: **Yeah...

**Star Paladin Cross: **He even gave me his gun.

**Lone Wanderer: **Which gun would that be?

**Star Paladin Cross: **The Smuggler's End. It's a laser pistol that he modified himself. It's not anything particularly special, but it's the sentiment of it.

**Lone Wanderer: **Mmhmm. Well. I've to speak to, uh...You know.

**Star Paladin Cross: **You're going to tell Kodiak?

**Lone Wanderer: **Might be my last chance.

**Star Paladin Cross: **I understand.

**Lone Wanderer: **Do me a favour, and check on Fawkes and Charon for me, would you please? I have a feeling they've probably gotten into another fight with one of the paladins by now.

**Star Paladin Cross: **I shall. Good luck. **[Footsteps.]**

**Lone Wanderer: **Okay. **[Sighing.]** Moment of truth. **[Footsteps.][Door opening.]**

**Man 23: **...Hmm?

**Lone Wanderer: **Hello, Paladin Kodiak. **[A.]** A.

**Paladin Kodiak: **Wanderer.

**Lone Wanderer: **Heh. "Wanderer". I guess Cross hasn't been telling anyone my real name then.

**Paladin Kodiak: **Nope. The betting pool trying to find out your real name is already twice the size of the one we had on Irving.

**Lone Wanderer: **Ha.

**Paladin Kodiak: **Star Paladin Cross isn't willing to tell anyone though. Or Elder Lyons. And as far as we can tell, they're the only ones that know.

**Lone Wanderer: **Has anyone bothered asking Dr. Li?

**Paladin Kodiak: **...Shit, man. Why didn't I think of that?!

**Lone Wanderer: [Laughing.]**

**Paladin Kodiak: [Laughing.]** Man, I'm a dumbass.

**Lone Wanderer: **No more so than the rest, if you still don't know it. I doubt the good doctor would see much of a point in keeping my secret.

**Paladin Kodiak: **Why do you keep it secret anyhow?

**Lone Wanderer: **I don't know. Psychological reasons? Maybe I feel if I hide behind a title and everyone addresses me by it, it adds a little more mystique? Trust me, my real name isn't nearly as impressive as Lone Wanderer. And once people stop thinking of me as the Lone Wanderer and go back to calling me Te- Go back to calling me by my real name...I think it loses something.

**Paladin Kodiak: **Hmm.

**Lone Wanderer: **Anyway. I'm putting off the real issue here. I came here to tell you something.

**Paladin Kodiak: **...Look, I'm flattered you'd think of me like that, and I greatly respect you because you're a hero and all, but-

**Lone Wanderer: **No, no. You misunderstand. I have something to tell you about your family.

**Paladin Kodiak: **...My family?

**Lone Wanderer: **Yes. Your family, Greg Bear.

**Paladin Kodiak: **...What about my family?

**Lone Wanderer: **I'm not sure if Cross told you this, but a little while before I came into contact with the Brotherhood of Steel, I ventured into the Pitt, called by a distress signal from an escaped slave, wanting my help in starting a revolution.

**Paladin Kodiak: **Really?

**Lone Wanderer: **The slave was called Wernher, and he devised a plan to have me infiltrate the city as a slave, and then fight in an arena called the Hole so that I could win the prize of joining the Pitt Raiders' ranks. This was so I could get to and steal the cure for the mutative effects the region had on the slaves, which they were withholding, and kill Lord Ashur, who ran the place.

**Paladin Kodiak: **Oh, I heard about that! Ishmael Ashur was one of the old guard, who was in the original scourge! I never knew him that well myself, but...Lyons and the others were talking about him a lot several weeks ago.

**Lone Wanderer: **Yeah. Well, the Pitt's been scourged again now. No-one left alive, raiders or slaves, least of all Ashur or Wernher. Marie turned out to be the cure. With no-one left alive to cure though, I took her back here.

**Paladin Kodiak: **...Shit.

**Lone Wanderer: **I know. What I'm getting to though, is that...

**Paladin Kodiak: **What?

**Lone Wanderer: **While I was in the Hole, two of the people I had to kill to win the challenge were a pair of brothers.

**Paladin Kodiak: **Oh no...

**Lone Wanderer: **A pair of brothers called Grudd and John Bear.

**Paladin Kodiak: **Oh Jesus, no...

**Lone Wanderer: **I'm sorry.

**Paladin Kodiak: **...Did they...Did they say anything?

**Lone Wanderer: **Nothing but screaming and shouting. You have to understand, these guys weren't who they used to be, whoever they were. The woman in charge of the Hole said that they were halfway to trog already.

**Paladin Kodiak: **Oh God...

**Lone Wanderer: **Gone mad, they had. Fighting in the Hole for...I don't know why. Maybe they were also slaves that wanted a chance at freedom. Maybe they just did it for fun. I'm not sure. They were good fighters though. Just like you.

**Paladin Kodiak: **...Did they at least die painlessly?

**Lone Wanderer: **...No such thing in the Pitt.

**Paladin Kodiak: [Sighing.]** Sorry. It's a...It's a lot to take in.

**Lone Wanderer: **I understand. I've lost family too.

**Paladin Kodiak: **I mean...I already thought they were dead. I have done since I was a kid, and Lyons took me away from that place. This...It's not so much that they're really dead now that I'm upset over. I just...They had the same opportunity I had. They could have been with me here. If we hadn't lost each other in that collapsing building, they could have been taken in by the Brotherhood too. I could still be fighting alongside my older brothers even today. I'd still have a real family instead of an adopted one. I love Lyons like a father, but...I was close with my brothers. And instead of that...they grew up in the Pitt...

**Lone Wanderer: **At least it's over for them now. Take some comfort in that. No-one else will suffer that place's horrors.

**Paladin Kodiak: **Yeah. I know. Thanks.

**Lone Wanderer: **Just thought you should know. **[Footsteps.]**

**Paladin Kodiak: **...Why did you take so long to tell me? If this was so long ago?

**Lone Wanderer: **...Was worried about how you'd take it. Given I'm responsible for...how it ended.

**Paladin Kodiak: **So what changed?

**Lone Wanderer: **Assaulting the purifier. Tomorrow, we take on the full brunt of the Enclave. There's no certainly that either of us will survive. I figured, if that was a possibility, you have the right to know.

**Paladin Kodiak: **Come on...You don't think the Enclave can kill _you_, do you? After everything you've survived?

**Lone Wanderer: **...No-one's immortal, paladin. **[Footsteps.]**

**Day 137: The New Year's Eve Massacre.**

It's the final day of the year, and fucking freezing. Nevertheless, on this day, we are ready for battle. Liberty Prime is ready to go, already shouting patriotic phrases that would have made my ancestors proud, Reilly's Rangers and the Brotherhood of Steel are itching to kill some Enclave bastards, my companions are locked and loaded, I've got the MIRV primed and a backpack full of mini nukes at the ready, and we have a clear plan of attack.

Once we get the all clear, we march out. Soon, we will wipe out the Enclave, and take the purifier back to bring in the new year.

Here's to you, 2278. I hope you're far less shit than the year that came before.

**Day 137 Part 2: Colonel Autumn is Dead.**

And I stripped his body naked and stuck him on a pike outside just for good measure.

All that's left now is the purifier itself. I can hear the Geiger counter going off, so I think there's some radiation troubles. Probably nothing important.

I'll write a full entry after I'm done with this.

**Day 138: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 139: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 140: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.


	21. Week Twenty One

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Twenty One**

**Day 141: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 142: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 143: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 144: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 145: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 146: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 147: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.


	22. Week Twenty Two

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Twenty Two**

**Day 148: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 149: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 150: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 151: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 152: Why Can't I Just Die?**

That radiation problem wasn't so little. All of Project Purity was about to explode, and the only way to stop it was for someone to go inside and enter the activation code, which no-one aside from dad actually knew. Fortunately, I knew enough about him to guess that it was 216, like the passage from_ Revelations _that inspired this whole thing.

They wanted me to go in there and deal with it myself, but since I am not an idiot, I was able to point out the intelligent, radiation-immune super mutant standing behind me. I told Fawkes the code, and he went in there to fix it himself. And fix it he did, but for some reason that didn't stop me and Sarah Lyons both being knocked out in the ensuing radiation purge.

Charon and the others were all okay. Fawkes was fine. And after two weeks, I'm now back on my feet too. Yet... Sarah remains comatose. And there's nothing I can do about it.

The Brotherhood says that they have a clear plan of action, and are currently waging war on the remains of the Enclave, intent on wiping out what remnants are still hanging around. They'd like for me to be able to help, but I think I've already done more than enough for them.

They may have officially promoted me to the rank of a Brotherhood knight, but I never asked for such a position in the first place, and I do not feel obligated to follow Elder Lyons' orders, OR his suggestions. I'm going on a break. I'm going to take Marie, and I'm going to go back to Megaton for a while to rest up and get over this trauma.

I'm sick and tired of this shit, and I'm done.

**Day 153: Break.**

Cross insisted on coming with me back to Megaton. Charon and Fawkes too. I've heard that they were assisting the Brotherhood as well during the time I spent comatose. I was really surprised to hear that the Brotherhood were letting a super mutant actively fight alongside them, but they say he's been a big help.

Charon also had a present for me when I woke up. After we killed Colonel Autumn, my ghoul friend took his coat and laser pistol, and had them both repaired. I can see why he did. It's a nice coat. Much more comfortable than power armour. Since I'll no longer be doing much in the way of fighting, I wore it today in our walk back to Megaton.

I can't tell you how glad I was to just walk across the wasteland in casual clothes and with no fear of getting shot at. The days of looking over my shoulder for raiders constantly are over. Now if there are even any raiders left, they'd probably piss themselves in fear and run away before I even get the chance to shoot them.

It's also good to see that Project Purity is having an effect. They call the new water produced by the project "Aqua Pura," and it's being distributed for free across the wasteland. Sadly, when I reached the gates of Megaton, I discovered that it's being given in bulk to towns, not individuals. And since Micky the water beggar isn't technically a Megaton citizen, he's still only getting what the charity of others will allow.

That's still more than he used to get though. Don't forget, Megaton had the ability to produce its own purified water on a small scale before there was a Project Purity, thanks to condensation filters and the like. I can still get five bottles of regular, unirradiated water every day from Wadsworth. The fact that Aqua Pura has now also been added into the mix means that the people of Megaton have more spare water than before, so Micky also gets more.

His circumstances aren't ideal, but he's still happy. Though he could be better. I should talk to Simms about letting him into the town some day. I've lived in this town for months and I still haven't thought to bring it up. What do they have against him anyway?

Charon's bed arrived, so he's happy too. Finally got a place to sleep other than the couch/bench. No arrangements for Cross yet though. Didn't think of that. But she's decided to rent a room in Gob's saloon. She gets a discount there.

I've put Colonel Autumn's laser pistol and the MIRV away in my locker for now, though not the power armour or other stuff. I never know when I may need them, and those lockers are really compact from how much stuff I've crammed into them already.

And now I'll spend a few days here, just... relaxing. I'll spend some time with Marie, get reacquainted with some friends, listen to some GNR, and just take a well deserved break.

If I don't write any logs for another few days, just assume all is fine.

"Assume all is fine?" Who am I even fucking talk to? Nobody reads my diary. And if you are, then fuck you. Stop snooping. Also, if I'm dead, bury me. If you piss on me or feed me to a yao guai, then whoever you are, you're getting _such_ a haunting.

**Day 154: Nope.**

Distress signal. Coming from Vault 101.

JESUS. FUCKING. CHRIST.


	23. Week Twenty Three

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Twenty Two**

**Day 155: Grand Entrance.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**[Footsteps.]**

**Woman 8: **Oh my God, you're back! You got my message and actually came- Mmph!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **...Well... Didn't expect that.

**Man 24: **Dude!

**Woman 8: **Mmm...

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Boss, you- **[Thumping.]** Um...

**Man 25: **Okay, get off the floor you two...

**Woman 8: **Ahhh...

**Dogmeat:** **[Barking.]**

**Star Paladin Cross: **They're not stopping...

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Uh, boss? The rest of us are still here.

**Lone Wanderer: **Fuck off, Charon. **[Ripping.]**

**Woman 8: [Yelping.]** That was my good jumpsuit!

**Lone Wanderer: **I'll get you a new one.

**Woman 9: **Oh, Jesus! Really, Amata?! Right in the middle of the clinic?!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Boss! Put your clothes back on!

**Lone Wanderer: **I ain't stopping for you guys.

**Amata: [Moaning.]**

**Lone Wanderer: [Panting.]** Fawkes... **[Panting.]** Get rid of the rest of these people.

**Fawkes: [Uneven shouting.]** Certainly.

**Man 25: **WOAH! WHERE THE FUCK DID HE COME FROM?!

**Star Paladin Cross: **Okay, everyone. Clear out. Give them some privacy.

**Woman 9: **But this is our headquarters!

**Man 25: **Shut up, Christine! Don't make the big green guy mad!

**Amata: [Loud moaning.]**

**Christine: **Jeez! Keep it down!

**Lone Wanderer: **Still not hearing them leaving.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Right. Come on. Seriously now. Everyone out.

**Day 155 Part 2: Ant Pheromones.**

Virginity status: Lost.

I'm in bed right now. Amata's asleep. And I am satisfied as all hell. I don't think my triumphant return to the vault could have possibly gone better.

To be honest, I can't say the same for the events that transpired in the wake of me and dad leaving. This place turned to shit pretty fast by the looks of it. There's been a schism, and a lot of the younger vault dwellers want to leave and go out into the wasteland, which has basically caused a vault civil war between this young rebel faction and the forces of the replacement overseer, Allen Mack.

Jim and Janice Wilkins, Agnes and Chip Taylor, Mary and Monica Kendall, Steve and Beatrice Armstrong, and Paul and Vikki Hannon are all dead thanks to the chaos caused after me and dad left, most of them because they had no qualified medical staff to see to them and had to rely on Andy, who is about as good at amputations as he is cutting birthday cakes.

To make matters worse, Mr. Brotch, who is the co-leader of the rebels along with Amata, has been captured and imprisoned by the overseer's forces. He'll need to be rescued. That's been designated as my job, along with somehow talking down the overseer, who I know well enough to say that it'll be damn near impossible.

And there's also Butch, who wants to leave the vault and go out into the wastes to form his own gang. Tunnel Snakes are over, apparently. Paul's dead, and Wally Mack has thrown in his lot with the rest of his family, and I'm still not sure if Freddie Gomez ever was one in the first place, but he's not now in any case.

Gomez and Butch are both part of the rebellion now, but the rebels only want to open the vault and begin trading and exploration outside. Butch just wants to get out, but for some reason can't, and suggested destroying the vault in the engineering level to force a mass evacuation.

Obviously, I'm not planning to do that except as a very last resort, but I have no clue what else to do. Allen isn't going to listen to reason, and I don't want to incite more violence here when so many have died already. Vault 101 is supposed to be safe from that kind of shit.

Then again, with how all the other vaults ended up, I don't think anyone is really safe in here. I somehow doubt that 101 was a control vault, and I want to know what the experiment was and if it poses a danger to the vault residents. I mean, more danger than this whole civil war business.

Whatever. Project for tomorrow. I'm occupied right now.

**Day 156: One Problem Solved.**

Woke up. Freed Brotch. Intercepted plans for a raid that I got off a terminal. Informed Amata. Informed Officer Gomez. He's going to deal with it. Tomorrow, I think of a way to sort out this whole overseer business.

Cross, Charon and Fawkes are really getting used to the place though. It'd be the ideal environment to raise Marie. Once everything is cleared up here, I can go back to Megaton and collect her from Simms, and we can just... live here. Amata, me, and Marie. Living together in a vault, but a vault open to the wasteland I've helped rebuild. It'd be the perfect life.

I can see why dad thought to come here with me.

I still miss him.

**Day 157: Amata Won't Be Happy.**

I killed Overseer Mack.

It's his own fault, really. Who in the fuck looks at a person in black armour that turns them invisible, wielding a big-ass claw gauntlet, and backed up by a walking corpse, a hulking green monster and a woman in pre-war U.S. Army power armour, and thinks, "Yeah, I can take these guys!"

Ah well.

What's the worst she can do?

**Day 158: Fuck everything.**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 159: Fuck everything.**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 160: Fuck everything.**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.

**Day 161: Fuck everything.**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.


	24. Week Twenty Four

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Twenty Four**

**Day 162: The Fight.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Star Paladin Cross: [In distance.]** ...He's been like this for days now though. Just sitting in that bed all day...

**Man 25: [In distance.] **Well, Amata was pretty harsh with him.

**Star Paladin Cross: [In distance.]** That may be so, but he's destroying himself like this.

**Charon: [In distance.][Deep, gravelly voice.] **Oh, come on. He survived his own suicide attempt. He's hardly going to get killed by a little jet, is he?

**Star Paladin Cross: [In distance.]** That's not a _little _jet though. It's a _lot_. And it's not even the jet I'm most worried about. I'm worried about the Med-X. He injects _four times _the lethal dose _daily_.

**Charon: [In distance.][Deep, gravelly voice.] **Well, maybe he's naturally chem resistant?

**Lone Wanderer:** **[Shouting.]** I can _hear _you fuckers! That door is only metal!

**Man 25: [In distance.]** Man, how does he do that? **[Footsteps.][Squeaking hinges.][Footsteps.]**

**Lone Wanderer:** **[Shouting.]** You think you can talk about me behind my back and I won't fucking hear you?! You're in my house! I'm right on the other side of that door! You think you can keep fucking secrets and conspire against me?!

**Star Paladin Cross: **Look, we're not conspiring against you, Te-

**Lone Wanderer:** Shut your FUCKING MOUTH, Cross! Just because you lot found out my name in the vault doesn't mean any of you get to use it!

**Star Paladin Cross: **Now you're just being childish.

**Man 25: **Yeah! Come on, man! I thought you were cool!

**Lone Wanderer:** Since fucking when?!

**Man 25: **I... Uh...

**Lone Wanderer:** Since I did YOU a favour, Butch?! Since I did things to make YOU happy?! You gave not one fuck about me my entire life until I helped YOU with something, because you were too much of a FUCKING COWARD to kill some FUCKING RADROACHES! _**RADROACHES, BUTCH**_! I FIGHT FUCKING _**DEATHCLAWS **_OUT HERE!

**Butch: **Teddy, don't get- **[Fast footsteps.][Slamming.]** AGH!

**Lone Wanderer:** THAT IS NOT MY NAME!

**Star Paladin Cross: **Sweet Christ, not again...

**Lone Wanderer:** DO YOU FUCKING HEAR ME, BUTCH?! DO YOU?! **[Bone cracking.]**

**Butch: [Screaming.]**

**Lone Wanderer:** HOW ABOUT NOW?! DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW?!

**Star Paladin Cross: **Wanderer! Let him go!

**Butch: [Screaming.] **I'M SORRY!

**Lone Wanderer:** MY NAME IS EDWARD _**FUCKING **_SALLOW, AND I WILL _**EAT YOU ALIVE**_!

**Butch: [Screaming.]**

**Fawkes: [Uneven shouting.] **My friend, I cannot allow you to make this mistake.

**Lone Wanderer:** GET THE FUCK OFF ME, FAWKES!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Boss, cool your shit.

**Dogmeat: [Barking.]**

**Butch: **Agh... Son of a BITCH, that hurts!

**Lone Wanderer:** GET! OFF! **[Punching.]**

**Fawkes: [Loud groaning.][Thumping.]**

**Star Paladin Cross: **WANDERER! Stop this now! I'm warning you, I don't want to have to hurt you!

**Lone Wanderer:** SUPER SLEDGE? THANK YOU. DON'T MIND IF I DO. **[Clanging.]**

**Star Paladin Cross: [Grunting.] **When the hell did you get so strong?! You're not even in armour!

**Lone Wanderer:** I AM A GOD! **[Clanging.]**

**Star Paladin Cross: [Screaming.][Clanging.]**

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **BOSS! **[Punching.]** Ow! **[Punching.]** Stop it! **[Punching.]** Boss, that hurts! **[Punching.][Thumping.]** I give! I give!

**Fawkes: [Loud groaning.]**

**Butch: [Groaning.]**

**Lone Wanderer:** You... All of you... Just... Ugh. I'm going for a walk. No-one follow me, or I'll kick your asses again. **[Door opening.][Door slamming.]**

**Day 162 Part 2: Self Reflection.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**[Footsteps.]**

**Lone Wanderer:** Hey, diary. Sorry I haven't been making entries lately. It's been a... Who am I even apologising to? Forget it. Diary, I'm in some serious shit now. I was kicked out of the vault. Amata, that fucking bitch, just told me to get out the door the moment I solved all her problems for her. Gave me a modified utility jumpsuit as a parting gift, as if that fucking makes up for it. I damn near killed her right then and there. I would have, too. If not for Fawkes and the other stopping me. They dragged me out of that vault kicking and screaming. It took all of them at once to hold me, because Fawkes by himself _wasn't strong enough _to stop me. I kept thrashing until the vault door closed, and even then it wasn't until we hit the open air again that I truly let my despair take over. I cried for days. As my last recording indicates, I'm only mobile again now because I left Megaton to get some air after I had a massive fight with my companions. And Butch. He decided to tag along with us. Not that I want him there, but he's with us. **[Tin can clattering.]** And now I'm just taking a walk out in the wasteland. I don't know where I'm going. North is the general direction. I'm somewhere around... Uh... Vault 106, I think. I'm not sure. Anyway, I'm just making this audio recording to say that... I regret everything.

**Day 162 Part 3: Side Quest.**

I stupidly forgot to take any food with me when I left. Fortunately, I came across a hunting party from Big Town out here shortly after I made my last entry. I didn't have any caps with me, but they recognised me and gave me a bit of yao guai free of charge. Nice people. I'll be sure repay them if I come across them again.

But really, I'm making this entry just to say that I'll be heading to Scrapyard tonight. I'm not sure how long or how far I originally intended to take this walk, but I passed Hallowed Moors Cemetery earlier today, and came across a dead guy. He had a note on him, intended for his brother, Billy. Apparently he stole something from him, and this guy, John, put it in a box in Scrapyard and was intending to return the key to his brother when he got killed. He's still got the key with him too.

It's pretty tragic, but I'm unlikely to ever meet this Billy person, so I probably won't be able to return the key. I figured it'd be best to go there and take whatever it is for myself, and then give that to Billy if I ever do meet him. Better than it being stumbled upon by some other random wastelander, I figure.

**Day 162 Part 4: Memories.**

...I found the box that the key unlocked. And... It's one I already looted. Way back when, possibly the first time I ever came to Scrapyard, I found this box, broke into it, and if I recall correctly, took several books and a _Grognak _comic from it. Most of which I think I sold. John probably never even knew that the box had been emptied. I honestly feel kinda guilty now. I just figured it was another one of the many old locked ammo boxes from before the war you find around.

Man. This place has so many memories for me. My first time here, scavenging... I met Dogmeat here. And then later, he and I came back and killed Daniel Littlehorn together. I'm going to look around just quick, actually.

Yeah, I was right. The skeleton of Dogmeat's old master is still here, and the raiders who killed him too. All this time later, and the Scrapyard still reeks of death. Or something, anyway. There's definitely something tingly in the air. It's probably radiation.

I think I'm going to go sleep in the Littlehorn and associates office tonight. I remember it being warm. And at least that place is clean of bodies. I know because I buried them myself. Or, I buried Littlehorn at least. I think Dogmeat and I ate the secretaries.

**Day 163: Inexplicable.**

After spending last night in Scrapyard, I continued northwards today. Unfortunately, that didn't work out well. See, when I left Megaton, I went with nothing but the vault jumpsuit that Amata gave me. I didn't even take any weapons. I thought I wouldn't need them, having killed just about everything in the wasteland that posed even the slightest threat already.

But then today I came across an Enclave camp.

I thought I'd wiped all of these out, but the Brotherhood did say that there were still Enclave soldiers at large in the wasteland. And I found one of the last bastions of them, far to the north. It was in this ravine below a small bridge, a little way from the clifftop shacks where we cleared out the super mutants ages ago.

Three soldiers, two robots, and a mind-controlled deathclaw. And again, all I had was a vault jumpsuit.

So, that was the scenario. No backup, no weapons, and even more naked than when I first left the vault, because at least then I had some armour that I had peeled off a dead security guard. And I was up against robots, a creature that could carve through power armour, and three guys with power armour of their own, one of them being a goddamn Hellfire trooper.

Now, I'm a badass. No doubt about that. But I'm not suicidal, (all the time), and despite my boasting, I didn't really think I was invincible either. I have a healing factor for some reason, yes, but I was still fairly certain it could be overwhelmed, and I didn't really want to get shot and sliced apart anyway, even if I could survive it. So I decided to stealth it and avoid them until I could find some better weapons.

Being sneaky is a skill that never served me much use in the wasteland, at least not in the grand scheme of things. Like everything else I've ever tried though, practice has made me an undeniable master of the art. That and reading all those Chinese spy manuals. Doing it without the ability to turn invisible though made it a lot harder than the other times I attempted it.

I guess that's the downside to relying too heavily on stealth boys and the Anchorage armour. I got too used to not having to worry about being spotted from a distance. And I stupidly forgot that I was wearing a bright blue jumpsuit and walking along a bridge right near their camp.

I was spotted halfway through my attempt and got shot with a laser. It caught me by surprise, and I fell off the bridge, clinging off the side until I fell again when I was shot some more. I took some serious burns, and decided at that point that it would be best to just run away.

Running didn't help when up against deathclaws though. The thing chased me down through the ravine and cut me to pieces. It knocked me on my back, and then the two regular Enclave soldiers came charging in, guns blazing. Or lasers flashing, since they don't use many kinetic weapons.

I thought I was pretty much done for. They ordered the deathclaw to stop when they recognised me, and one of the Enclave guys got really smug and ordered me to my feet. They called in the Hellfire trooper, and they all took a moment to lord over me about their victory before attempting an execution, shooting me in the gut with a plasma rifle, point blank.

And then I literally exploded. Like a serious "mini nuke out of a Fatman" explosion. I know it sounds ridiculous, but that's what fucking happened. I swear. Somehow, the explosion didn't damage _me_, but it killed the two regular Enclave soldiers, crippled the deathclaw, and threw the Hellfire trooper into the closest wall.

I could feel it building up before it happened, and seconds before it did, I could almost see the fiery energy underneath my skin. My hands were glowing! And then suddenly, BOOM! Massive explosion, two guys dead, radiation immediately around me, and I'm on my knees again, breathing heavily, because I just fucking EXPLODED.

Moments afterwards though, I was fine. The healing factor was back, and it had apparently kicked into overdrive, because I was feeling like a new man in just seconds. I think it was the radiation. Radiation used to be what helped my healing before I just started healing from sunlight. So I guess it stands to reason that radiation and sunlight at the same time makes me heal faster. I think.

The one downside is that I think the explosion singed my hair a bit, because it was really long before thanks to a lack of wasteland barbers or time to spend with them, and now it feels short again. But I'm not complaining. Weird that my jumpsuit wasn't also burned though.

Then of course there were the Enclave soldiers to deal with. Hellfire guy had to take off his helmet because the explosion damaged the breathing apparatus, and he had the most precious expression on his face. Sheer, dumbfounded shock. And terror. Shock and terror. He was afraid to the point of wetting himself, and why wouldn't he be?

Taking off his helmet was a stupid idea though, because it just gave me a clear shot to kill him with one of the plasma rifles the Enclave guys dropped. And the deathclaw was too messed up to defend itself too. And once I had weapons again, killing the two robots at the camp was child's play.

So now I'm staying in this Enclave camp for the night. After making the mistake of coming out this far with no equipment, I'm remedying that now. I've stripped off their damaged power armour and taken their weapons, and used the best parts from all of them to make one suit and one plasma rifle in decent condition for my protection.

I don't have a backpack anymore, so I've turned the vault jumpsuit and a piece of the Hellfire guy's heavy incinerator into a makeshift bindel to hold it all. I've got no other clothes to wear under this armour though, so it looks like I'm going commando for a while.

And I've also raided their medical supplies and food stores. Mainly for the journey back though, because I might not scavenge enough food on my return trip to Megaton. I'll save what I found for then. Tonight, I'm just going to subsist on Enclave soldiers. I mean, the bodies are right there, and already partially cooked. Waste not, want not, right?

For now though, I'm just trying to figure out what the hell was up with that explosion thing I did. I have no idea what it was or how I triggered it. I'm guessing it was something that the aliens did to me, but that was ages ago, and if it was the aliens, then I'm left wondering why the doctor in Rivet City didn't comment on it when he was listing all my body's other anomalies.

So... was this the Enclave's fault? I was unconscious in their base for two weeks after all. That's the most obvious recent moment of vulnerability that I can think of. Or... the Brotherhood? That was more recent, but I somehow just can't picture them doing that. And I think someone would have said. My companions were right there the whole time, after all.

Enclave. It's gotta be an Enclave thing.

I really need to take some time to cool off after this whole thing though. Whatever it was I did, my body didn't like it much. The cybernetic implants feel like they were shifted about a bit. Not in an uncomfortable way, but they've definitely moved. And my pulse is crazy right now, which is weird, because my heart's beating the same speed as before.

I'll perform a full medical diagnosis on myself tomorrow. For now, I'm just going to finish my meal and see if I can sleep it off.

Laterz.

**Day 163 Part 2: Enclave soldiers are fucking disgusting.**

Mother Mary, what were these soldiers doing before I got here to make them taste so terrible?! They must have all taken a brahmin shit shower or something! Fuck!

**Day 164: Ethics.**

Well. Today was strange.

I looked at my map, and found that I was very close to that place I was meant to go to. That drifter I found in Dickerson Tabernacle had those coordinates on him, and I was right by the place. Searching around, I actually found what those were coordinates to, and suddenly everything makes sense.

This place I'm in now is called Oasis, and it has real, actual trees. Not dead and burnt husks, but living trees. Just like we had before the war. The place is so beautiful, I can't even describe it. The water is still irradiated, but this place, what I can only describe as a forest, is thriving. It's hidden away up in the mountains, and a small religious community has formed up here, though I'll get into them later.

Like I said, everything makes sense now. That drifter I killed was an outcast from the Treeminders who live here, (that's what they call themselves.) Three Dog's mention of coming across an area filled with lots of trees wasn't a jet-induced hallucination, but a real thing that happened when he at some point found this place. That merchant who died on me that mentioned a bunch of crazies in the mountains who he traded with was talking about these people. Even that raving lunatic I killed in D.C. who called himself "The Preacher" I now realise was talking about Oasis when he mentioned the trees in the north.

It's incredible. There were so many things pointing to this. I should have realised all along that there was something to all I had been hearing. But, that's me. Stupid Wanderer. Too ignorant to read the signs. Too caught up in all this wasteland adventure. And I've been missing this all along.

And then, there's Harold. Oh man, I haven't even got to Harold yet!

Check this out: Harold is a giant talking tree with a face, from whom this entire mountain forest grew, and who the Treeminders worship as a god. And not only that, but he can also watch everything that goes on in Oasis through the trees that grew from his seeds. It's amazing.

Harold says that he's actually a man, but he was exposed to a mutagen that caused a tree to start growing out of his head. This was all on the west coast, mind. He travelled for many years, before eventually arriving here, at which point the tree grew too large and he lost mobility and was rooted to the spot. To his embarrassment, the tree then started spreading seeds everywhere, causing the Oasis to spring up.

He was later discovered by the Treeminders, who decided he was a god and started their cult. He's tried to explain to them the truth of the situation, but every time he does, they think he's just testing their faith and moral fortitude. Which is unfortunate for him, because he wants to die, but they refuse to listen to what he wants and actually kill him.

And to be fair, I don't blame them for thinking that he's a god. He's a very unique entity. He's the only source of plant life in the Capital Wasteland, making him and this forest an almost entirely alien thing to someone uneducated in the ways of the old world. And he can see through the trees, which technically makes him omnipresent within the confines of Oasis. That's pretty godly in my book.

He tells me that he's been trying to use his enhanced sight to lure in wasteland travellers for a long time, hoping to get one of them to carry out his wishes and kill him. Except that the Treeminders have all outsiders go through a ceremony before they can see Harold, wherein they have to drink this weird shit.

I went through that ceremony too, but I think my survival and continued presence makes me the exception rather than the rule. Most others are scared off by the Treeminders' ceremony, so Harold's plan usually doesn't work. And in retrospect, it's probably drinking that stuff which is what killed that merchant I met. Thank Jesus for my cybernetic poison resistance.

Anyway. Harold gave me explicit instructions. He wants me to kill him. That's somewhat difficult to do, though. Yes, I _could _just burn him to death, but that would be extremely painful for him, and besides, he's afraid of fire. I'm not _that _much of a cock, or at least I like to think I'm not. So the only way to kill him painlessly is to go through a series of caves beneath the Oasis and destroy his heart. Because that's underground now. Yeesh. What an awful mutation to be stuck with for a lifetime.

Now, I of all people empathise with a longing for death like that, so I left to carry out his wishes. While leaving though, I found the two leaders of the Treeminders, Tree Father Birch and Leaf Mother Laurel, as they had just finished an argument. I soon discovered what they were debating over.

Birch wanted to apply a special kind of sap to Harold's heart and inhibit further growth, so as to prevent the spreading of the plant life and keep Oasis a secret from the rest of the wasteland, protecting it from discovery and later attack. Laurel meanwhile wants to apply a liniment instead, made to accelerate his growth and spread greenery and life over the wasteland as a whole.

They were aware that I was to go into the caves to Harold's heart, and both appealed to me to decide what to do and apply either the liniment or sap for them. And obviously, this is counter to Harold's own wishes.

And THEN I got to talking with the rest of the Treeminders, just while I was around, and everything became very difficult as I began to learn about just how much Harold meant to all of them.

There was the little girl, Sapling Yew, who considered Harold to be her true friend, and talked about how she used to sleep by his roots after having bad dreams. There was Linden, a former Brotherhood Outcast, who doesn't believe that Harold is a god, but who has made a new life here with the Treeminders.

And then there's Cypress and Maple, who with Linden help guard the Oasis gates, and they're both true believers. Both in Birch's camp, though Maple later admitted that Oasis was probably too remote to be at great risk anyway. And Bloomseer Poplar too, who is the village oracle, I guess. She's with Laurel.

See, I'm so conflicted. They all have their own views on whether Oasis should remain isolated or expand, but it all comes down to the fact that both are in opposition to what Harold really wants, and what he really wants is to finally be allowed to die.

I've told all the parties involved that I need a day to sleep on it, and I'm staying here with the Treeminders tonight while I try to come to a decision. This is a tough one for me, and I'm not really sure what to do.

It's like it all comes down to this. My ultimate choice. Not just for Harold and the Treeminders, but me too. What am I, and what do I want to be? I tried to end my own life as well. By killing Harold, would I be acknowledging that I still want to die too? Would sparing him mean I want to live again?

And then there's Linden, an Outcast. I killed them in droves. All of them. Does leaving him and embracing the peace of this community mean an end to my spree of needless killing and my grudges against those that annoyed me so? Do I want to put that behind me? I still feel I have an axe to grind with the Enclave, but would I ever be able to just forget it and walk away from that? After what they did to my father? Can I still forgive and forget?

Would there even be a point when I've already mostly wiped out the Enclave and the Outcasts don't even exist anymore?

I don't know. I have no answers. All I know is that tomorrow, everything changes. I'm going to make a decision for the wasteland, the Treeminders, Harold, and myself. And when I walk away from here again, I'm starting over. What I'll be doing when I start over, I haven't a clue. But whatever I decide, I can hope for the best.

**Day 165: Life.**

I chose life.

Oasis was a mine before the war, which is why the caverns and tunnels are all there. I encountered resistance during my quest. Mostly mirelurks and radroaches. It was a difficult fight in all that dark, and I used up all my ammunition for the plasma rifle, forcing me to use the weapons I found down here, which included a 10mm pistol, a combat knife, a sniper and a Chinese assault rifle.

In the end though, I made it to the heart, and I applied the liniment. Harold's growth was accelerated, and though I may not even live to see it, one day the Capital Wasteland will be green again thanks to him. I've brought life back to this living hell. And I don't feel guilty for that.

Harold was initially disappointed by my choice, but he accepted it. And what's more, I made him realise just how important he is to all the people here. Just like I talked Old Man Lopez out of ending it, I convinced Harold to live as well. And he says that for the first time in ages, he's truly happy again. And I'm glad I made that happen.

Not all of the Treeminders approved of my decision either, but those that did were very thankful. Poplar gave me her hood, it being one of the few things she _could_ give me, and Linden gave me his power armour from his time in the Brotherhood Outcasts. Little Yew even gave me a lucky bear charm.

It feels good to know that everything worked out so well. Nature still thrives here, even if it is through unnatural means, and one day it will spread. The Capital Wasteland has a bright future ahead of it now, and so do I. Because I have changed. This was exactly what I needed after the misery of Vault 101 and the fight with my companions.

I now realise how important life is. All life. Mine included. And I want to live it now. I want to adventure again. And I don't want to let the past get in the way of that, whether it be the past of the old world, or my own past in the vault. I'm done hunting down survivors of factions like the Outcasts and the Enclave too. Linden gets to live, and from now on, so does everyone who doesn't shoot at me first.

And best of all, I think I have my faith in humanity back. I've missed it dearly.

So, there you have it. Brand new Wanderer. No more vengeance. No more pointless death. No more angsting. I'm done holding grudges, I'm done clinging onto the past, and I'm done seeing the bad in everything. And from now on, I will live as I always should have. Oasis is a beautiful place, and I'm glad it brought out this side of me.

I may not think that Harold is a god, but I do think that a god brought me here. And he has my gratitude.

**Day 166: Brand New Day.**

After finally marking on the map properly for Reilly, I left the Oasis today, to head back home to Megaton.

I took the Chinese assault rifle and plasma rifle with me, plus a bottle of Nuka-Cola Quantum, but everything else I found in the caves I handed over to the Treeminders. That includes the stealth boys, chems, stimpaks, blood packs, water, RadAway, weapons, ammunition, and books, which include a _D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine_. The contents of that cave might help them out a bit.

The Treeminders were grateful for all that I had done for them, and Harold was too, even though I went against what he asked of me. They were all sad to see me leave, but alas, duty calls. I have people back home who miss me, and I think I miss them too.

Before I left, Bloomseer Poplar offered to read my future for me. She said that even after the metal men fall, my greatest victory will still be ahead of me, and I will rise higher than ever before. Sounds to me like an optimistic prediction.

Everything's going my way.

**Day 167: Wasteland Travels.**

Reached Big Town today. My trek southwards was largely uneventful, though at one point I did save a woman by Reclining Groves who some psychotic raiders had strapped a bomb too. Disarmed it before it could explode and killed the gang before they could shoot her too. Quick on the draw. That's me.

Big Town itself has really expanded quite nicely. It's a far cry from that homely little town ravaged by super mutants that I remember from back in the day. All the old shitty pre-war houses have been cleared out and fixed up now, including some of the boarded up ones outside the main perimeter that no-one dared live in before. More of the original townspeople have their own houses, the town hall has been turned into a shop, and there's even a hotel opened here now, which comes with a bar.

I'm honestly really proud of these guys. Even if they are suddenly acting like complete dicks and pretending not to know me. I mean, I know my hair's shorter now, but come on. It's not like I completely changed my entire appearance or anything. Christ.

**Day 168: The Final Stretch.**

I sold all my weapons and the Hellfire armour I've been wearing until now. I don't really need it anymore. I'm keeping Linden's armour and all my other gifts, because they're going in my souvenir locker when I get home, but I don't need any further protection. I've decided to tag along with a caravan for the final journey back to Megaton.

For once, I'm not going to worry about fighting off murderous raiders. There aren't even that many left anyway. I got rid of the vast majority of them. So someone else can take care of it next time they pop up. Pest control is not my job.

**Day 168 Part 2: Is it April Fools already and nobody told me?**

I arrived back in Megaton late this night and tried to go into my own home, and Lucas Simms arrested me for attempted burglary.

For fuck's sake, people! I'm a different man _metaphorically_! Stop acting like you don't recognise me, you absolute fucking pricks.


	25. Week Twenty Five

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Twenty Five**

**Day 169: Well. This is New.**

Apparently my face _did _change a bit. Early this morning when Simms came in to check on me, I was able to convince him of who I am by answering trivia questions about our interactions and the things I've done in town since I arrived here. He showed me a mirror during all this, and I've got to admit, I do look a little different.

Shorter hair, for a start. Not burned off, like I thought, but just cut shorter. My eyes are green now, when they weren't before. Skin tone is a shade darker, like I've just finished an extended tanning session. And my face is... well. It's been rearranged. It's hard to describe. I'm not good at describing faces in detail. Suffice to say, it's different enough that I don't look like the same person, at least not at a glance.

I don't know. I don't think I look _completely _unrecognisable, but... Well, maybe I do. Not sure how that happened, honestly. I think that explosion disfigured me, and the healing factor repaired the damage wrong. I mean, half of my skull IS covered in cybernetics. That could very well interfere. It wouldn't be that much of a stretch.

Anyway, at midday, Charon came in to see me. After I was able to convince him too, he and Lucas decided that that was enough to let me go, and I was taken back to the house. The others had mixed reactions.

Butch is still utterly terrified of me, but he mellowed out a bit later. I apologised to him for my actions, and he made a show of still being mad about it because he's a tough guy who don't take no crap from no-one, but he forgave me really. I know him well enough to tell what he's actually feeling. He's a lot more sensitive than I ever gave him credit for. I hope one day to get him to drop the act and behave like a normal person.

Fawkes was glad to have me back. He holds no animosity whatsoever about what happened, and I think he's just happy to see me not stuck in a state of endless rage anymore. He was pretty quick to forgive.

Cross... She was more upset about it than anyone else. She still forgave me, but it was reluctantly, and she was pretty obviously hurt that I had turned on her like that. And she tells me of how concerned she was during my absence, and how worried she was about what could happen to me, but when she searched around outside of Megaton, they never found me.

And Charon was about the same. Less hurt that I had attacked him, but he'd still been worried about me for the past few days. Damn. I sure accomplished my goal with him. It was like getting blood out of a stone, but I did it. I made Charon openly show an emotional side.

And of course, Dogmeat and Marie were just happy that I was there again. Marie's crying less often now, I've noticed. At least, when she does cry, it's because there's something wrong rather than just because she doesn't have anything else to do. Surprisingly, she seemed to recognise me immediately, despite my new look.

I guess babies are smarter than given credit for.

Since I got back, I've put Linden's armour, the hood and the utility jumpsuit from the vault away in the locker with all my other keepsakes. And I've put my Hellfire armour and backpack of other equipment back on. Because tomorrow, I want to return to the Brotherhood and see what new adventures they have for me.

Side note: The local cult has been pinning pamphlets to everyone's doors around here, including mine, advertising their new church in Springvale. I'm not _that _annoyed, but I rather wish they wouldn't.

**Day 170: Return to Project Purity.**

We're back in the Jefferson Memorial, after a day's walk. We didn't go through the D.C. ruins today though. Instead, we walked south from Megaton and passed by the Fairfax ruins and the Nuka-Cola plant. Met a wandering wastelander there who tried to sell us some chems, though I instead ended up unloading my own chem supply on him instead.

Bigsley, the scribe running the water distribution, seems a little overworked. Poor guy is stretching himself too thin trying to organise everything, and it sounds like not everything is going smoothly.

He says that Megaton doesn't seem to be getting its water, which no-one mentioned to me yesterday, but I guess I should investigate anyway. There are also some organised bandit raids going on in D.C. I should look into. And I hear that there's a ghoul in Underworld buying Aqua Pura for some reason, which is odd, considering ghouls don't need their water to be unirradiated...

I'm going to look into the bandit raids first. That's my first priority tomorrow. I'll see if I can put a stop to this nonsense. For now, we're staying the night here.

**Day 171: Protecting the Water Way.**

Today, I decided to split the group up to cover more ground. I took Butch and Dogmeat with me to Rivet City, so we could find out more about the ambushes on the caravans. Fawkes and Charon went into D.C. together to look around Underworld for information about this Griffon guy who's buying the Aqua Pura. And Cross took Marie back to the Citadel and agreed to meet us later in Underworld.

I got to talking with Butch during that time. It's weird being on good terms with him, but he respects me in a way he never did before. He doesn't like goody two-shoes, and he doesn't like monstrous thugs, but I think I strike the right balance in his eyes. Most people you ask would say I'm a paragon of virtue. He knows I'm not.

And while it was on my mind, I realised that I had to get him some better protection. Unlike the rest of us, Butch has no power armour training, so he was stuck with his Tunnel Snake jacket, but I could at least give him some decent weapons. So I gave him a share of plasma grenades for explosives, and Ol' Painless for a decent long range weapon, which he's taken to using.

I offered him my dart gun and Stabhappy as well, to replace his 10mm and switchblade, but he declined. The dart gun because he'd rather have a weapon that can kill, even if it is weak, and I didn't want to part with Blackhawk. Stabhappy because he actually liked his switchblade for sentimental reasons. Which I sympathise with, because he's had that for as long as I can remember.

I'll get him a better sidearm from the locker when we get back to Megaton.

Anyway. We got to Rivet City and heard that there was a caravan on its way to Canterbury Commons, so we rushed after it to try and catch up, and arrived just in time to see it get wiped out by the bandits we were looking for, who we then killed.

I think it was Butch's first real fight, and to his credit, he did okay. He had the sense to get behind cover, his accuracy wasn't half bad, and I think he even killed one of them. Also glad to see that like me, he isn't the type to be incredibly grief stricken over killing murderous wasteland scumbags.

But though we failed to save the caravan, I was able to find several holotapes on the bandits from a guy called Split Jack. They were all identical, and were handed out to new recruits to this gang to explain the scheme to them and give them their meeting place and password. The location was Grandma Sparkle's house in Wilhelm's Wharf, the password was "Mirelurk Stew," and the name of the game is "protection racket."

Following the tapes' instructions though, we found the gang at Grandma Sparkle's house. I removed my power armour and hid it in my backpack to avoid suspicion, and Butch and myself met Split Jack in person. Sadly, his testicles were _not _huge enough to drag the ground, which is what I was expecting from the man who seriously attempted to extort the Brotherhood of Steel's caravans.

I claimed to be interested in joining the gang and gave the password, and Butch followed suit. We were both given some metal armour and instructed to change into it, which Butch kept even after the whole incident. Then I got to talking with the gang leader in earnest, and asked about the plan, so I could point out the problem with expecting Rivet City to pay for something they give out for free.

Yes. Instead of simply killing the bandits with my plasma rifle and Nuka grenades, I tried to talk them out of being bandits. Guns blazing was the old Wanderer's style. I'm the new Wanderer. So I tried to be diplomatic about it. Sadly, convincing Jack that his plan was a failure made him and the gang decide to kill some random people to blow off steam, and they gunned down Grandma Sparkle right in front of me.

_Then _the fighting broke out, which ended as it always does. Everyone on their side dead, me hit a few times but never actually dying, and the trenchcoat weirdo popping up out of nowhere for just a second to kill one of them before disappearing into the aether again.

He does that so often now that I've stopped commenting on it, but this was the first time Butch saw the guy, so that led to a whole awkward conversation where I had to explain that I don't know who he is either, that he just comes by and helps sometimes, that he might be a ghost or an alien or something, and there's this whole thing...

I am pretty discouraged though. I genuinely tried to resolve everything peacefully this time, and it _still_ ended with murder and shooting people with plasma rifles. Poor Butch was taken completely off guard by everything. He told me that for a moment there, he thought I was honestly joining up with the gang. He's glad I didn't after he saw what they did to Grandma Sparkle, but it was pretty shocking for him when I then initiated the fight afterwards.

I'm proud of him for everything today. He's actually showing signs of some kind of morality buried underneath all that leather and hair gel. And that's more than I could say for myself during my first two weeks outside the vault.

We're walking back to Rivet City to inform Officer Lepelletier of what happened now. After that, we'll be heading into D.C. to check in on Underworld and reunite with the others. It'll also expose Butch to the real heart of the wasteland for the first time. Reilly's Rangers, GNR, Underworld, the Temple of the Union, the museums, the monuments... I'm glad I could take him to see it all in wasteland peacetime.

Or as close to it as it'll ever get.

**Day 171 Part 2: Griffon the Conman.**

After stopping by the Rangers' place to collect a meagre few caps for actually mapping Oasis properly this time, me and Butch reached Underworld and reunited with Charon, Fawkes and Cross.

We found Griffon pretty easily. He was outside the town's entrance on a stage, trying to sell a product he called Aqua Cura, which he claimed was able to cure the ghoul condition, and which he demonstrated himself by pointing out that his natural hair had started re-growing. What he didn't tell everyone was that it was actually a wig, and that Aqua Cura is just regular wasteland water in an Aqua Pura bottle.

We found this out when I was given a sample myself, and I tested it with the Pipboy, which declared it irradiated. He claimed it was wrong, but this thing has never been wrong before, and it still wasn't. I decided we should ask Bigsley for the location of his bottling operations, but fortunately, we didn't need to.

Since it would take the rest of the day at least to get back to Project Purity, it was instead decided to stay the night in Underworld and see him tomorrow, so I used the rest of the day to show Butch around the Mall. I was taking him to see the Museum of Technology when we stumbled across the Museum Authority Building, which I noticed was no longer boarded up.

Heading inside, it became clear why. Griffon was running his business from there. He had hired a bunch of guards to handle the deals with Bigsley's men when they came by and kill anyone else that came snooping, necessitating another fight. A holotape we found indicated that the Aqua Pura was dumped into tubs and sinks in here and stored, while the bottles were then filled with irradiated water and sold as Aqua Cura to the people of Underworld.

I'm not really sure what the point of that is, but if I had to take a guess, I'd say it's to sell the real Aqua Pura to humans who can't get it for free from the Brotherhood, (like raiders), while selling regular water at the same price to those few that can't tell the difference (like ghouls, to whom radiation is practically an aphrodisiac).

I confronted Griffon once we'd discovered the truth, and forced him to come clean about it all. It ended with an angry mob beating him to death in the museum's bathroom and taking their money back by force.

Also picked up a Quantum and a wig of my own in the Museum Authority. First time in a while I'll be able to make myself some more Nuka grenades, and I think I need the wig too. I very much don't like how short my hair is now. I'm just going to wear this over it until it grows out again.

I think today went about as well as can be expected.

**Day 172: Atom.**

Today was not a good day.

It's bad enough that we spent most of it walking through the D.C. ruins with only a brief stop by Three Dog's place for rest, and even that wasn't much fun because I spent most of my time there trying to convince him that I'm the same guy. But THEN after all that, we arrived back in Megaton late this afternoon just in time to see Micky the water beggar die.

Some woman called Rosa tried to give him a bottle of Aqua Pura that she got from the cultists set up in Springvale. They're a breakaway from the Church of Atom, and unlike the main body of the cult that I ignored as harmless crazies, these people were legitimately endangering the town.

Their deal is that they think that radiation is some kind of gift from their god, Atom, and so to be irradiated in their eyes is to "bask in Atom's glow." So they were taking Megaton's shipments of Aqua Pura off the Brotherhood caravans, (who in this crazy religion are seen as angels), and re-irradiating it all to create what they consider to be holy water. The end goal of all this is that those who are seen as "worthy" in Atom's eyes are bestowed with his "gift" this way, which is ghoulification.

Needless to say, I was pretty pissed off about this considering all the people that died to purify it in the first place, including my own father. However, I decided to restrain myself for once, and just like with the bandits, I decided to talk down the crazies instead of tossing a Nuka grenade down the trapdoor and just ending the problem right there.

This time, it actually worked out. They're going to continue poisoning themselves and other people until they're all dead or a gathering of ferals in a ruined basement, but they'll no longer steal Aqua Pura from Megaton to do it, or trick people who would normally tell them to go fuck themselves into joining their suicide cult. And that's really all I care about, because trying to educate people that ignorant is something that not even my dad on mentats could have accomplished.

Still though, I'm going to miss Micky. I used to give him a bottle of water every morning and evening I was in Megaton. He was the first person I met after I left the vault, not counting the raider gang from Springvale School and Silver, who is also dead now, thanks to the Enclave.

At least I stopped the people that killed him though. Tomorrow, I'll head for the purifier to tell Bigsley what happened.

**Day 173: How My Morning Went.**

Wearing the wig underneath my helmet was proving to be frustrating, so I tossed it in the locker with all my other junk and got Butch to take a look at my hair and see what he could do with it. He was the vault barber after all. His skills show, too. Even though my hair is way too short for me to have my previous style again, he combed and trimmed it in such a way that it _looks _longer at least.

I have no idea how he does it, but the man's a genius.

As thanks, I dug around in my locker for a decent replacement sidearm for him, since the 10mm pistol is still rather shit, and I got him a decent enough upgrade. Sydney's SMG, which is in top condition, fires fast, and uses the same ammo as his old pistol. All around, a big improvement.

The other guys wanted a selection from the locker too while we were at it, and hey, what's the use in having a personal armoury if you can't use it to equip your best soldiers?

Fawkes found his original super sledge that I borrowed in there and used it to replace his current one, which Cross used to break down for parts to repair hers. And I let him take Vengeance too, because a Gatling laser is too impractical for me to carry everywhere, and his own one was pretty beaten up since he doesn't do his own weapon maintenance like the rest of us.

Charon also wanted a better long range weapon than the railway rifle, because he was running out of ammunition for it, and railway spikes don't just grow on trees, so I let him have my own sniper rifle. It's been ages since I used it anyway.

After all that drama was done, we then left Megaton to head back to Project Purity, or at least to the Citadel. On the way, I also came up with the idea to make a map marker for the stupid cultists' church in Springvale. It's literally only a few steps away from the Springvale map marker. It's completely pointless! But I _so _want to see if Reilly will actually pay me for it. I want to know just how much I can get away with.

As I write this, we've just reached the Citadel, and it's about lunch time, so we'll probably make it to Purity before the day's out.

**Day 173 Part 2: Problem Solved.**

The Brotherhood are sending another caravan to Megaton soon. There will be no more robberies from bandits or cultists, and they can expect to get their fresh water soon. All is well.

**Day 174: Actually, all is not well.**

In all the confusion, I seem to have forgotten that the Enclave still exists as an organised force, and not just as isolated camps in the far north of the wasteland. After returning to the Citadel today, we were instructed to head far to the west, where the Brotherhood is currently busy laying siege to an Enclave base.

It's technically a little bit outside of what is usually considered to be the Capital Wasteland, but the Brotherhood have set up base almost dead on that arbitrarily defined border, inside the Rockland car tunnel. We're on our way there to meet with them. Right now, we're staying in Tenpenny Tower, and we'll reach them by tomorrow.

Vengeful or not, the war still rages out there, and I'm still a soldier.

**Day 175: Rockland.**

We've arrived at Rockland and met up with the Brotherhood. I marked it on the map, and we will be heading out into battle shortly. I must admit, I'm pretty stoked to see Liberty Prime in action again. He was quite the sight to behold during the battle for the purifier.

Oh, and... This is a little embarrassing to admit, but I blew myself up. Came across a square of mines, tried to disarm them, and for some reason I found I couldn't. So now my legs are broken, and I'm waiting for them to heal, which is why I'm currently sunbathing outside the entrance to the Rockland tunnel instead of fighting.

I'll be fine and ready to kill some 'clavers real soon though.

**Day 175 Part 2: Well, that went to shit pretty quickly.**

My legs never healed for some reason, so I had to dig into the stimpaks and do some doctor work for the first time in a while, and then I had to immediately start walking on them again. That was no fun.

Then Liberty Prime was destroyed. Yeah. You heard me. The Enclave literally called down missiles from space and blew him to pieces. These fuckers have an orbital weapons platform.

And then I and the Brotherhood had to fight our way through their entire base, killing wave after wave of Enclave soldiers, in order to reach their main computer and get any information we could on that damn orbital strike. I swear, there must have been at least thirty soldiers in that base alone. I got shot so many times, I'm honestly surprised that my armour didn't melt into slag, though it's still unusable. I have orders to return to the Citadel with this information right now, and that's what I'm currently doing.

Seriously though, my armour is almost unsalvageable after that drama, and I've had to abandon it and put on my stealth armour instead. I left the old thing on the Brotherhood's salvage pile.

It does not bode well. It's been ages since the Enclave put me through my paces like this. They were always a step up from wasteland trash like raiders and slavers, but they were still a manageable problem as long as I had my power armour. The only exception to that rule was the rare time I had to go toe to toe with a Hellfire trooper using inferior equipment, but that was Hellfire armour I was wearing on that raid just now, and it still got ruined.

And that's not even getting into Liberty Prime's death, the orbital strike, and all the nasty implications that brings up. I mean, can the Enclave just drop death from above on me anytime they feel like it? I hope not, and the fact that they haven't until now means there must be some reason why they've shown restraint so far, and why they're not using that power to just destroy the Citadel right away, but I'm still worried.

Maybe the problem is that I'm out of practice? I was in a coma for two weeks, and with the odd exception, I haven't done much fighting since then. What little I have done has just been against unthreatening bandits. I've gotten rusty. I'm all out of whack. I need to get in shape again and step up to the challenge.

The Enclave will not get the best of me. I'm the Lone Wanderer. My bones are metal, sunlight strengthens me, radiation heals me, and when you shoot me point blank in the face I explode like a mini nuke and have no injuries to show for it except slightly shorter hair. I am practically a demigod, and these fuckheads do not scare me.

And oh look, there's that violent streak again. You know, I'm glad Oasis got me to chill out a bit and stop with the unprovoked murder, but I'm also glad that my angry side is still there. I think I need it at times.

_Especially _times like this.


	26. Week Twenty Six

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Twenty Six**

**Day 176: Next Assignment.**

I've returned to the Citadel with the data. It was a long trip, and we walked much further than we usually do. Going _to _Rockland, we stopped by Tenpenny Tower for a spell to rest up. Going _from _it, we skipped Tenpenny _and _Fairfax, _and _Independence, _and _Andale, _and _several other places we could have rested, and didn't actually stop until we reached Arlington Library, where the book retrieval operations have since resumed.

Well, we _would _have stopped at Fairfax if Cross had had her way, but there was some crazy scavenger there pulling parts off a pre-war car, and I was able to use him as an excuse for us to move on.

Reaching the Citadel today, I spoke with a lot of people. Scribe Rothchild was obviously devastated by the loss of Prime, but the data gave him some hope of salvaging something from the operation. Elder Lyons isn't feeling too optimistic, but he's not given up yet. And Paladin Tristan, when he also got back, gave me my next assignment.

We need to head for Old Olney. I've been there before, but never thoroughly explored the place apparently, because he said that there's some powerworks there that I never noticed before. We need to get into the Olney Powerworks and find a Tesla coil, which the Brotherhood scribes need for some project that may help us against the Enclave.

Scribe Vallincourt told me that there's an Enclave camp near Olney, one of the few that I've yet to wipe out, and that they may have a deathclaw out that way. Fortunately, she saw this an opportunity to field test some new Brotherhood equipment, namely a scrambler that allows me to take control of Enclave deathclaws. It works passively, so I don't need actively direct them. I just need to keep it on my person, and the deathclaw will recognise me and my allies as the controllers and work its magic on the attacking Enclave soldiers.

I'm excited to test it out, so we'll be heading off soon. Not right now though. For today, I've been staying at the Citadel to make sure things are all in order here. Mostly checking on Marie, but she's in good hands with the scribes here, and seems happy. I've also put Butch through power armour training with Paladin Gunny, which he's been doing poorly at so far, but it'll be worth it to get him some decent protection.

And I've put myself through a medical examination to see if any of the Brotherhood scribes can determine what's wrong with me. I'm told that my biology shows signs of heavy mutations, since my genetic code doesn't really even resemble what it did before. It's still human... ish... but it's a weird kind of human.

It's mostly my old enhancements that they've noted, such as the glands that give me my regenerative properties, the integrated ant DNA, and a few other things. There are a bunch of new ones though, lower blood temperature and a multiple hearts being among the most prominent.

The Brotherhood have _some_ explanations though. Apparently, I have two _different _glands that are responsible for regeneration.

One is activated by sunlight, and the other by radiation. The radiation activated one focuses on the fixing of bones, while the sunlight one repairs mostly tissue damage. This may be why my limbs didn't fix themselves through sunlight exposure back at Rockland. I was trying to heal the wrong kind of damage. No explanation yet why my bones fixed themselves through sunlight exposure after my suicide attempt though.

They tell me though that just because radiation provides benefits through activation of the regenerative gland, that doesn't mean it can't still mutate me. Likely, the radiation I've been exposed to while out in the wasteland caused additional mutations.

Most people just get cancer for the umpteenth time when they're exposed to radiation, but they say I'm genetically predisposed towards heavily mutating instead, so when it happens to me I instead get things like additional regenerative glands or hearts or apparently the ability to explode and change my face. Go figure.

Maybe next I'll get shapeshifting?

But this probably means that the Enclave aren't responsible for this bullshit. In fact, the aliens may not even be. Well, the aliens are definitely responsible for my cybernetics, and I know that Lesko put that ant formula in me, but my other mutations are probably just my shitty luck. Or good luck. I don't know. They've mostly been to my advantage so far. I'd still rather not mutate anymore if it can be helped though.

Tomorrow we're going to head north again. I'll probably make a few stops along the way to see some old friends. Lesko in particular I want to talk with, if we get opportunity to stop by Shalebridge. And I want to check in on Zeta.

I've been considering telling the Brotherhood about the mothership, but I'm still not sure. If they can beat the Enclave with terrestrial technology, that would be better, because the last thing the wasteland needs these days is even _more _destructive weapons, and Prime was already pushing that boundary. That said, I'll see if I can deal with that Enclave satellite from up there and level the playing field a bit.

I've got conflict in my future.

**Day 177: Discoveries.**

We continued heading northwards today, and came across a few interesting things. For one, when we passed around the back of Megaton, Dogmeat sniffed out a hollowed out rock, which contained a sniper rifle and a note. The note is addressed only to "S" and is from an "E," and by the sounds of it, S requested the sniper rifle be sent to them.

I'm not sure who these people are, to be honest. The note and the rifle itself are old though. They've been here for months at least. Cross took the rifle and used parts from it to repair her own, on the grounds that whoever it was meant for is probably dead if they haven't collected it after this long.

I've just been trying to think of people I know who might have need for a rifle like that, and who might have sent it. The only prominent "E" that I can immediately think of is Eulogy Jones. And the only people I can imagine him sending a rifle to are slavers and raiders. So... Seagrave Holmes? Sam Warrick? Sister? Smiling Jack? Split Jack? I could be wrong about the E, and it could have been intended for Silver, Sydney, Stockholm... Stockholm would make the most sense, considering he lives in Megaton and is a sniper.

Or it could be two people who I've never met before. I don't fucking know.

And then in the front of Megaton, we came across an ongoing argument between a group of citizens and a Brotherhood caravan. We'd arrived just in time to see the arrival of the first water caravan since those crazies stopped intercepting them to make their holy water.

Unfortunately, the settlers were getting greedy and demanding more water. They were on the verge of attacking the caravan when I arrived, the suicidal idiots. I talked them out of it and allowed the caravan to go on its way. It always amazes me just how many stupid people there are in Megaton.

Don't get me wrong, Lucas Simms and Moira and Billy Creel and Gob and Nova and all the others are decent folk. There are plenty of intelligent and rational people living there. But of all the cities in the wastes, Megaton has the highest population of Darwin defiers I've ever seen in one location.

Between the fucking idiots worshipping an unexploded nuclear weapon and standing in a pond or irradiated water all day, the even stupider breakaway cult in Springvale attempting to intentionally ghoulify themselves without even understanding the science behind it, the morons wanting to attack a pair of men in power armour with nothing but crappy rifles and the clothes on their backs for the sake of more pure water that they get for free anyway and don't even need since the city has its own water purification systems, and whatever absolute cretin decided that it was a good idea to let people like Jericho live there, (most likely Moriarty), I'm just shocked that the entire town wasn't reduced to rubble and a great big pile of corpses _long _before I arrived.

While there, we also got into my locker and got a set of Outcast power armour for Butch, now that he's completed his training. It's the set that Linden gave me. With the Outcasts now all dead, and plenty of other suits in circulation around the wasteland from me selling them to various merchants in my early days, I don't think there's any danger of Butch being shot at by the Brotherhood for wearing it.

I considered getting out a set for myself too, maybe one of the sets from the Pitt, or the winter suit, but I decided against it. Stealth armour is doing fine for me right now.

And the final interesting thing of note is that while we passing by Arefu, (we were heading for Paradise Falls to spend the night), I came across Susie Mack from Vault 101. She was pleasant enough, despite how badly leaving the vault went. Of course, she didn't recognise me, but she believed me immediately when I told her who I was. Mainly because she says there isn't much point in a random wasteland stranger impersonating me to talk to her, and the fact that I was able to recall specific memories from the vault too.

She told me that Vault 101 is doing well, and she was out there doing some trading on behalf of the vault. It's still not officially open yet, but they are sending out individual emissaries to the wasteland, like her. She was just on her way back from Paradise Falls at the time, because she heard there was a settlement there, (and there is, but more on that later.)

It was good to hear that the vault was doing well at least, and she did give me a bottle of purified water. Though she also told me that Amata misses me, and that got me angry again. I told her that if Amata really missed me then she shouldn't have exiled me in the first place, and to tell that bitch that if I ever see her again, I'll mutilate her with a chainsaw.

I then apologised to Susie for taking out my anger on her, she said it was okay and accepted my apology, we talked a little more about old times, and then she went on her way. I hope she still passes on to Amata what I said about the chainsaw. Because I do mean that. Seriously. If I see her again? Chainsaw. Right in the vagina.

And then of course we reached Paradise Falls, where we are now. The town has since been repopulated by a group of wasteland settlers. Scavengers, traders, hunters, that sort of thing. There was a guy there renting out beds in a kind of hotel he set up, but since we're the ones who cleaned this town out in the first place, we were given a few rooms for free.

I'm optimistic about the mission tomorrow. The Enclave may have an advantage right now, but that won't last long.

**Day 178: Space.**

Returned to Mothership Zeta at soonest opportunity. Again, convinced Elliott and the others of who I was, and checked on the status of the ship. Apparently, they found a few alien stragglers in the depths of the ship a while back. Sally says that they tried to communicate with the survivors, but that they attacked first, so Private Tercorien and the samurai wiped them out.

Speaking of the samurai, he's started learning some basic English since I was last here. He's got a heavy accent, and his sentences are phrased weirdly, but he can get his meaning across. He introduced himself to me formally as Toshiro Kago, finally giving me a name to put to him, and gave me proper thanks for returning his sword to him back during the rebellion.

He says that he's started learning from Elliott and Sally about what exactly the ship is, who the aliens were, who we are and where we come from, and about what's happened on the planet below. Poor guy's still devastated by most of it. To learn not only that all his friends and family died centuries ago and that the world moved on without him, but that even _modern_ Japan was probably destroyed by the Great War just as our country was... I can't even imagine how he must be feeling.

I asked if he'll ever go back to Japan, or the Japanese Wasteland, or even just Earth, but he only said that he's not sure.

That depressing story aside, I did look into possibly using Zeta's weapons to track that Enclave satellite and blasting it out of the sky, but that would mean turning the entire ship around to the proper angle, and she's too burned out for that. Shame. I really want to get the old girl working again one day. Yeah, she's far too destructive to be left in the hands of the human race right now, but I don't think that'll be true forever.

And this thing might one day prove to be humanity's saving grace. Our planet might never recover, but Zeta could colonise other worlds. More factions like the Enclave might rise up to oppress the masses, and Zeta could end their tyranny before it begins. We could suffer starvation and droughts, but survive it with the food and water on this ship. The technology we have here could be used to build civilizations ten times as advanced as the old world.

I'm considering setting up a line of succession, since me and the other humans of Zeta won't live forever. A league of guardians and protectors, composed of those I deem most trustworthy and intelligent. The beginnings of an order that will forever stand, guarding this ship, slowly repairing it, watching over it, and watching the human race below, until the time that they deem them worthy of Zeta and its many secrets.

I'll need to be careful though. I don't want the order to turn into the Brotherhood Outcasts a few generations down the line, a bunch of assholes who just use the alien technology to lord over everyone else and keep it for themselves because they've gained a massive superiority complex.

I'd need to write a _very _clear codex with _specific _criteria determining when Zeta's technology should be handed over. That way there won't be infighting about whether or not the human race is ready for Zeta's technology, and they won't need a Lone Wanderer type figure to step in and decide the outcome of the conflict, like I had to in Oasis.

Hmm... This is going to need some thought. I'll get back to this later.

**Day 178 Part 2: Olney Underground.**

Three Dog was on the radio this morning, with a eulogy for Liberty Prime. Cute.

We reached the Enclave camp that we were told about, and I let loose the deathclaw. Vallincourt's device worked like a charm. It killed the Hellfire trooper present at the camp by itself, with no need for instructions from me or much trouble. Fawkes gunned down the other two soldiers with his Gatling laser, Cross shot a fleeing officer, and I didn't have to do anything at all.

Cross called in that the camp was wiped out, we killed the deathclaw while it stood there doing nothing, and then we headed into the sewers beneath Olney. Down there, we found it infested with more deathclaws. Since I'd long ago killed all the ones on the surface, I mistakenly thought that they were gone, but underground they were still thriving. They'd have probably spread back into the town by now if they could climb ladders.

Not that me and my companions weren't enough, of course, but when fighting deathclaws that can cut through power armour, it's always better to be safe than sorry. So when we came across a maintenance protectron, we decided to activate it and set it loose on the sewers. The old rust bucket wasn't the most efficient killer, but every extra gun helps. The deathclaws were more focused on us anyway, so they generally ignored the little guy.

Fawkes got into a bad scrap with one of them though. He ended up having to punch it to death after it knocked Vengeance out of his hands. Cut him up real bad. First time I've seen him sustain a serious injury, but he was fine after a little while. Fawkes is as hardy as ever.

Then we came across a dead Brotherhood of Steel initiate, wearing a prototype suit of medic power armour, designed to dispense Med-X to injured combatants automatically. The proper version would have dispensed stimpaks and other chems as well, but this one only does Med-X. Needless to say, when I came across it, I had to put it on.

That's how I found out that it also has an onboard AI, which alerts me of nearby enemy presences, among other things. It's also extremely rude. The most apt comparison I can think of is that it's like a mister gutsy; a grizzled, commie-hating, loud-mouthed, propaganda-spewing, pre-war military bastard. I'm honestly not very fond of it.

I'm putting up with it for now, because it's good protection, but at soonest opportunity I'm going to tear this thing apart and remove the AI's voice. Or at least replace it. I really like the idea of power armour with an onboard AI to do all the heavy work for me, but I'd rather have a helpful and pleasant one. I want something like Wadsworth in this suit... Oh. Now there's an idea...

After that, we moved into another underground area and met a pair of ghouls, the only survivors of a group which attempted to set up a ghoul safe haven here, until they disturbed the local deathclaw population. They got out alright thanks to us, and we moved onto the powerworks.

Then it was pretty clear sailing. Some Enclave troops dropped in to ambush us at one point, probably knowing what we were up to, and there were security robots, but we got in and out with the Tesla coil pretty quickly, and are now heading back south to the Citadel. Well... Not directly. Southwest.

I want to stop by Shalebridge, like I said. It might add a bit to the journey, but I think if the Brotherhood were willing to wait many days to get the Tesla coil in the first place, an extra day or two won't make as much difference.

Also for the first time in a while, I can report on a list of loot we scavenged from around Olney. We got two Quantums for me to fashion into grenades, a pair of mini nukes, a pair of stealth boys, and another Fatman to fire the mini nukes with. Plus a missile launcher. And the usual haul of several chems, ammunition types, small guns and other things not worth commenting on.

I think that's everything. Yeah. So I'll update this again tomorrow I guess.

**Day 179: Ant Enthusiasts.**

We stayed last night on Zeta and headed west today. Passed through Paradise Falls again, and made our way, as I said we would, to Shalebridge. There, I got to finally check in on old Doctor Lesko again, and the surprisingly docile ant colony.

As I often do these days, I spent a fair bit of time just convincing Lesko that I was the same person. He wanted to know more about my change, mainly interested in the science behind it, but then I revealed that I'd actually come hoping to grill _him _for information on what happened to me. Because the Brotherhood scribes may have their own theories, but _he _was the one who permanently altered my DNA with the ant might formula.

That shot he gave me was lasting. Even through all the alterations to my DNA to the point it's unrecognisable as my own, those bits of ant have resiliently stayed there. Bonded more closely to my genetic structure than apparently even the look of my face or the number of certain internal organs I should have. I wanted to know if the ant might was responsible for this.

Sadly, the good doctor's studies were inconclusive. Nothing in his research notes suggested abnormalities, he took blood samples from me and tested them and the traces of ant might in them for any hints of a connection between the conditions and found nothing, and he even told me that he had himself taken its sister formula, (ant sight), with no drastic consequences like I'm experiencing.

I want to say I'm disappointed, but at least I can rule out one probable cause for all the strangeness in my life; whatever made me explode, it's not the one mutation I deliberately induced. I still haven't ruled out the possibility of the metal skeleton or cybernetic components being somehow responsible for this, but they're next on the list. I'll need to get a skilled tech guy to look at...

Shit. What am I doing? I'll just go see Pinkerton. Duh.

The ant colony is doing well too, by the way. Lesko's been studying them peacefully with no attempts so far to radically alter their DNA, and subsequently no disastrous outbreak of pyrokinetic insects swarming over the wasteland. Though he had been running _some _experiments, trying to see if he can speed up their rate of breeding.

He says that since predator ants tend to attack foragers despite the fact that both are equally capable of fighting, that if forager ant colonies can be deliberately set up across the Capital Wasteland, and their breeding cycle increased so that they're more numerous, they might naturally kill off the aggressive ants over time.

It wouldn't be genocide so much as it would be an evolution. Natural selection would favour the more numerous foragers, who'd eventually kill the predators, and would not be killed in turn by others as much because their passiveness would make them less enemies. Humans would have no reason to hurt foragers, and what we'd end up with is a stable ecosystem wherein the ants can thrive and wasteland settlers will have less to fear from the local wildlife.

Plus, we'd have another easy source of food. Brahmin can be farmed for meat because they're so docile, but we can't do that with hardly any other species. Those guys at the Anchorage memorial tried with mirelurks, and when I arrived there they were all dead. After this though, it'll be easy to do it for ants.

Poor Lesko was having trouble with that stage of the research though. See, he _wanted _to be able to look into getting the ants to breed more, but without any appropriate sample of _ant pheromones _to study— OH WAIT.

Yes, once again, I came along to save the day. This wasteland is lucky to have me. Lesko's experiments here are going to make a difference. I'm glad I spared him all that time ago. His original intentions back in Grayditch were to find a way to make ants harmless to humans again, and now he's finally accomplishing it.

Between the upcoming rebirth of the ants, Oasis spreading plant life across the wasteland, Project Purity bringing clean water to everyone, and me and so many others bringing an end to villainous factions like the Enclave, the Outcasts, Talon company and the Paradise Falls slavers, I think that the Capital Wasteland is fast approaching a golden age.

I hope I live to see it all happen.

**Day 180: Raiders Were Once Scary.**

Stayed at Shalebridge last night. After we were done saying goodbye to Lesko, we made the trip south and stopped by Fort Bannister. That place is still a Brotherhood outpost, so we were able to rest up there and resupply, and I was sold off what remaining loot from Olney I couldn't get rid of in Paradise Falls. While there, I made a call back to the Citadel to let them know I was on my way.

Then we continued journeying east. The trip was mostly uneventful, except for one hilarious instance at Jury Street Metro Station where some failure of a raider called Mel tried to rob us with an unloaded gun. I still can't decide whether I more pitied him for his idiocy, or admired him for his boldness. This was a man who saw a party of four people in power armour accompanied by a super mutant and a guard dog too just for good measure, and his first thought was to try and rob us with an unloaded gun.

Following my new merciful streak, I let him leave unmolested, even though the old me would have shot his legs off with a Gauss rifle just on the off chance of him one day finding ammo for that gun and robbing someone for real. Now though, I think I'm confident enough to say that Mel isn't going to become the next terror of the wastes. The Capital Wasteland isn't going to be doomed if I let one hopelessly stupid raider go.

And now we're back in Megaton again, our final stop before we return to the Citadel again tomorrow. I wonder what they wanted the Tesla coil for? It'd better be worth it, with all the trouble I've gone through for it...

**Day 181: Care Package.**

Before we left today, I got held up by Lucas Simms. He had a present for me. Turns out somebody from the vault stopped by Megaton, knowing that I live here now, and dropped off an old family heirloom. It's dad's old framed _Revelations _quote. The one that inspired Project Purity. He kept that hung on the wall for years in the old clinic. I stupidly never thought to take it with me when I left the vault either time.

Also included were a few old family pictures, some of my dad's research notes, and even the hard drive of my computer terminal. I had a lot of personal stuff on there, but they couldn't copy it and send me a data chip because they couldn't access it. Which is to be expected. My old password was impossible to crack. (It was "GrogrethOTP").

Oh, and I think there was also a note from Amata there apologising or some such, but I don't remember what it said exactly because I ate it. And it tasted like BETRAYAL.

Nevertheless, I am glad to have the rest of this stuff back, which I've left back in Megaton to sort through more thoroughly once I've got the time to do so. It's good to have something physical to remember dad by. Especially since I have _no idea _what happened to his body, so there's no grave. I assume the Enclave did something with his remains after we all left Project Purity, but I don't know _what_.

Kinda hoping I don't ever find out, actually. I have a feeling I won't like the answer.

And now, we're back in the Citadel again, and I've just finished delivering the Tesla coil to Paladin Tristan. Sounds like the data recovered from the Rockland facility came in handy, too. They've located the Enclave's other main base that they've been attacking from since the fall of Raven Rock; Adams Air Force Base.

Another location a ways outside the Capital Wasteland, but this time I fortunately won't have to walk there. There's a special metro system beneath D.C. that was made exclusively for the president and other senior government officials. I'm told it'll lead straight to Adams if I can access it. And that means I'm going to have to make a return trip to the White House.

I'm holding it off for just one more day though. I want to go see Pinkerton tomorrow about my cybernetics. See if he can tell me anything.

Oh, and I almost forgot to note, I'm no longer wearing the medic power armour. It got too loud for me. I've still not given up on eventually retooling it to give it a less annoying AI, which is why I left it on my workbench rather than stuffing it into the locker, but I'm not lugging it around for no reason anymore. Stopped carrying Colonel Autumn's coat around too, since this is going to be a strictly combat mission.

**Day 182: Pinkerton Don't Know Crap.**

Beautiful.

Well. Guess I'm off to war now.


	27. Week Twenty Seven

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Twenty Seven**

**Day 183: The Underground Onslaught.**

Today saw me descend into madness, both literal madness as I tore my hair out in frustration dealing with what must have been hundreds of angry ghouls, and metaphorical madness too, because I was going underground again.

Having already cleared the path to the ruins of the White House long ago, it was easy getting into the presidential metro tunnels. I did not expect, however, that I would face such great challenge in the tunnels themselves. When we got down there, I was expecting the same ruins that run under the rest of D.C. Instead, we discovered it in almost pre-war condition and still functioning, as the dedicated AI running the metro used her robots to hold back a tide of feral ghouls.

M.A. .T had been trying her best, but for some reason the presidential metro was dealing with a large number of reavers amongst the ferals, and they were proving resilient to her attempts to get rid of them. Ferals are annoyingly persistent, and so are robots, so this battle had been going on a while by the time we arrived to end the stalemate in the robots' favour.

Since I had earlier found a senator's ID badge, we were marked as friendly by the robots and allowed passage through the area. This is fortunate, because I really didn't want to kill these ones. Robots usually try to murder us because they're faulty after years of exposure to the elements and no longer discriminate between targets. These ones were in good condition though, and directed by an AI just trying to do her job, and who happened to be in a position to help us.

And I won't lie, I kind of felt bad for her being stuck down there and forced to protect the metro like that. M.A. .T actually seemed to be fairly intelligent, especially by the standards of most AI. A mister handy or gutsy, sentry bot, robobrain or protectron might be able to imitate human behaviour and hold conversations, but they're just pre-programmed instructions that the machine is following.

M.A. .T on the other hand had learning capability, and even though she appeared not to have any kind of emotions, in my book it's at that point an AI crosses the line into sapient life. President Eden, and I guess other computers like him, would also count as alive. The androids of the Commonwealth, too. I don't treat Harkness like a robot, even though he most certainly is one. So I guess deep down I have to believe that some machines really are "alive" in a sense.

Woah. Weird tangent there. Sorry for the random philosophising.

What happened though, is that we beat back the ferals and helped M.A. .T take control again after we spoke with her. And there were a lot of them down there. The tunnels were a war zone, and had my friends not been there to help, I would have probably died. Dogmeat almost did, the poor mutt. Reavers are vicious bastards, and would not hesitate to rip an animal in half. If it were literally any other dog in the wasteland, I don't think he would have survived it.

Fawkes was a lifesaver though. Nothing clears out the ghouls quite like a big, burly super mutant who can blast them with a dozen lasers a second and literally punch their heads off. He did most of the real work. I was just trying to avoid getting massacred or getting my stealth armour ruined like my power armour was, and Charon and Butch were also decidedly focused on the staying alive part. Cross at least had the good mind to defend the security robots before they got wrecked as well.

After that debacle was over, M.A. .T sent a robot to repair the line, and we're now actually taking the metro to reach Adams. That's a first. Every other time we've gone underground, all the trains have been wrecked and we've had to walk through the tunnels themselves.

I'm writing this on the train as we're travelling to the air force base. I'm not sure how long the trip will be, but it can't be anything compared to the commute to and from the Pitt. And when we get back, at least, I won't have to exit through the White House again. I managed to find and unlock a door leading from the presidential metro to the Capitol Building.

Also of note is that I found a holotape up there next to a skeleton. It was a woman, saying goodbye to her lover as she was dying. Apparently some bad people found her, and killed her over something her boyfriend got for her. Something that many had already died and lost people for, and that he had gotten it as a gift for her.

The holotape requests that anyone who finds it should take it to her boyfriend in the hotel in Georgetown, where they were supposed to meet. This would be just another tragic pre-war story in any other situation, but no. This is recent. The holotape made reference to the boyfriend searching ruins and avoiding super mutants. Though the woman's skeletal state suggests this was recorded a while ago... that guy might still be out there.

I need to take the holotape to this man. He deserves to know what happened, I think. And I need to satisfy my curiosity about who this woman was, and why she had to die. Especially how she and her attackers came to be here of all places. So I guess I now have an incentive to survive whatever I will face at Adams.

Also came across a Quantum down in the presidential metro, and I'm carrying it with me now. If I can find a workbench and some materials at Adams, I might be able to fashion another three Nuka grenades to help with the upcoming battle.

I need every weapon I can get for this. I'm a soldier. I'm the _best _soldier.

_Lone Wanderer_, baby.

**Day 184: This Isn't Going Well.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**[Fast footsteps.]**

**Man 27: **It's the very early morning right now, but we didn't stop for sleep and instead launched right into the assault. And it has been _brutal_. Once I arrived at the Enclave base, I decided to go out and pick up the supply crate, where my new orders and my newest weapon were waiting for me. Said newest weapon is the Tesla cannon, which is very effective against vertibirds and easy to find ammo for. **[Various energy weapons firing in distance.]** However, the moment I took it out of the crate, a beacon activated telling the Brotherhood to attack. That's why we didn't stop to rest or wait until tomorrow to begin the fight. There wasn't much choice in the matter. The Enclave's orbital strikes are controlled from the mobile base crawler, and to get into that I need to go up to the control tower, which is where I'm heading now.

**Woman 10: [Electronic voice.]** HEY! **[Plasma rifle firing.][Screaming.]**

**Man 27: **Sorry. Enclave trooper. Now where was I? Oh yes, that's right. Fighting. So, it didn't take long for the Enclave to ruin the stealth suit as well, since I kind of had a large entourage with me which necessitates open warfare rather than sneaky snake action like it's built for. I ended up having to de-suit and sneak around mostly with stealth boys, so yes, I am in fact unarmoured right now. Though, unlike my last suit of power armour, the stealth suit really is irreplaceable, so I stashed it away and I'm just going to give what remains of it to Fawkes to carry back to the Capital Wasteland with us, and hope I can find a way to repair it later. I like that suit, and I don't want to lose it. But anyway, my point is... Oh fuck. I forgot to put in the line breaks. I bet the transcript is fuck huge now. **[Pipboy beeping.]** Bwuh? Man twenty seven? Are you fucking serious? It doesn't recognise my voice either? You stupid, fucking, piece of trash, cock sucking... Okay. Fine. Calm. My name is Lone Wanderer. Confirming that again. My name is Lone Wanderer. Got that? **[Long pause.]** Aaaaand it's not going to display a new line with my new name until someone else interrupts me. Beautiful. I had better still be able to line break.

Testing. Good. Shitty thing. The Enclave forces here have been relentless, no doubt about it. Enclave officers are about the lightest threat here. Most of them have been the standard soldiers, whether in Enclave power armour or Tesla armour, and there's also been a pretty high concentration of Hellfire troopers as well. So far I've been avoiding those, because they gave me trouble even when I had low grade power armour too, just because theirs is about the best I've ever seen.

Fawkes dealt with most of the Hellfire troopers so far, because he's a badass, but the group split up a while ago. After we went through Adams Storage Facility, I told Butch and Dogmeat to stay there and keep out of trouble. Butch has power armour, so I don't think he'll die, but I still want to keep him out of the line of fire considering he's so green. And Dogmeat is liable to get killed out in this mess.

Charon, Cross and Fawkes have now gone to meet up with the rest of the Brotherhood and help them in dealing with the Enclave, and I'm continuing to stealth it around this place. I can see the tower coming up, and once I reach there, I should be able to put an end to all this. Except we also have to deal with the deathclaws around here. It's not just the Enclave's human army.

There's also robots, and deathclaws, and shitloads of turrets, plus vertibirds that I need to keep shooting down too. I hate those fucking things. And they're a real nuisance too. At least most of the time I can turn it around to get them to attack the Enclave instead, but damn. I'm just in fear for my life right now.

**Day 184 Part 2: End of the Enclave.**

The Enclave is dead, and the wasteland is finally safe again, at least for now.

After my last audio entry I busted into the tower and opened up the mobile base crawler. I reunited with a few of my companions, we went inside, killed everyone we came across except this one Enclave scientist guy who turned traitor, reprogrammed the robots to slaughter Enclave personnel too, and then made it up to the orbital strike controls. With the push of a button, missiles flew down from the heavens and obliterated the mobile base, ending the Enclave's reign of terror for good.

What's more, Sarah Lyons is conscious again, and showed up in a vertibird that the Brotherhood captured. I was glad to see her, and she was to see me, even if I look a bit different now. Sadly though, I declined her offer of a return trip to the Citadel. A few Brotherhood of Steel guys are hanging around here to mop up any other Enclave soldiers we might have missed and scavenge the base for anything of interest.

Butch found a modified flamer earlier, and there's tonnes of other cool stuff inside the mobile base crawler and around the rest of the facilities. The Brotherhood's goal from hereon out will probably be to strip this place of as much tech as they can. There's so much here that they could make use of, from the vertibirds, to the controlled deathclaws, to the advanced power armour, and everything else around here.

And even the stuff around here that isn't _new _technology exactly is still pretty useful. I mean, an organisation like the Brotherhood that use primarily energy weapons can never have too many electron charge packs and microfusion cells, right? And there are shitloads of those around here. Not to mention other weapons and parts, blueprints and materials to produce new equipment, flamer fuel, ammunition for other weapons, sensor modules, food and pure water, RadAway, the list goes on.

So I'm going to help with that, and look around here to see what else turns up. I might just find something interesting.

**Day 185: Scavenging.**

Well, I wasn't wrong.

Scouring the entire base turned up some good stuff. About half a dozen mini nukes and two Quantums were among my least interesting finds, plus shitloads of ammunition for other weapons I needed. But the real valuables are the Enclave's weapons tech.

Turns out the Brotherhood weren't the only ones who made Tesla cannons, as I've found at least eight others around here. I used one to replace some parts in my own already deteriorating cannon, but I only needed the one, and the Brotherhood needs to get their hands on these more than random wastelander merchants need that kind of firepower or I need the caps, so I handed the other seven over.

Then there were modified versions of pre-existing weapons. I already said that Butch came across a modified flamer. Well, I came across another. The two we found are called the rapid-torch and the slo-burn. Slo-burn is the actual name according to blueprints. That's not me making a spelling error. The two flamers are designed to kill in different ways. Rapid-torch was made with conserving fuel and killing quickly in mind, while the slo-burn was a massive fuel hog and was designed by a sadist with intentions to kill slowly and painfully.

There's also another Enclave modified Gatling laser, which has been redesigned and modified with accuracy in mind. Miniguns and Gatling lasers shoot really fast and do a lot of damage in the right hands, but they're a lot more difficult to aim precisely, particularly because they often spread over greater distance. A minigun is especially useless against long range targets. I think this one was made to counter that issue. Whether it works or not, I don't know, because I haven't had a chance to test it. I like the theory though.

And most important of all, the Enclave had scavenged a few bits of alien technology too. Like the Outcasts though, it wasn't much. A single blaster and a few alien energy cells. Nevertheless, I snatched it up the moment I saw it. Still don't want terrestrial life using this stuff yet. Humans are not ready for this kind of shit.

Oh, my glass house is positively _gleaming_ today.

There was also some kind of special recon armour that this Enclave guy was wearing that I found. Or at least the helmet was special. More Enclave experimental tech. I wondered at first if the Brotherhood wanted it, but from the sounds of it, they already have the designs, so I was allowed to take it, along with everything else I've mentioned so far except the Tesla cannons. And I even got to keep the original one of those.

Just for good measure, I also created a new map area for Adams and added location tags for the mobile base crawler, air control tower and storage facility. I swear this is the last time I'm going to push my limits with Reilly. (Maybe.)

Me and my friends are now heading back to the Citadel again. Since we're done with the scavenging and the Enclave are now dead, I think it's high time to report back to Elder Lyons again and get myself some new work. Or else get started on a few other side jobs. Still gotta make a few repairs around here.

Oh, and I also was allowed to take a few suits of Hellfire armour with me too. My last set is still ruined, and it's good to have replacements.

Three Dog still hasn't gotten word of the Enclave's defeat yet. GNR is still repeating the news of Prime's death right now.

And... side note. While out scavenging the base yesterday, I once again decided to help myself to some Enclave soldier chunks, but just like last time shortly after the explosion, I found the taste of him... vile.

I'm not sure what's wrong. I wouldn't have thought pure humans would taste so dramatically different from regular wastelanders, but that seems to be the case. Even the wildmen of the Pitt I was able to stomach, and they were filthy. It makes me question everything about myself. What is even wrong with me? Why does everything taste different?

And everything _does_ taste different. Not just humans, but _all _food. It's just that until now, I've had no real cause to complain. Only humans now taste so sickly. Nothing else makes me blanch like that. In fact, some things taste way better than before. Dandy Boy Apples have been my new favourite for a few weeks now. They're stuffed full of preservatives and really not good for me, but damn I have such a craving for some of those right now.

**Day 186: The World is a Retarded Place.**

We saw Lyons yesterday and stayed the night in the Citadel again. Then, today, I decided we should head out into the D.C. ruins and follow the lead of that note I found in the presidential metro. And what did I fucking find? Fucking sleepwear! AGAIN! And that woman's lover? None other than the brother of that twat that tried to threaten me for the other sleepwear in Grayditch!

And just to note, he shares his brother's condition of oddly coloured brains. Guess that shit is genetic.

I at least got some context for this madness though. Lug-Nut, the guy I killed in Grayditch, had both the sleepwears specially made in Virginia by some master tailor guy. He sent one to his brother that I just killed, Lag-Bolt, to give to his girlfriend. So that set successfully made it to Lag-Bolt, who has been waiting around in Georgetown for an unknown period of time to give the gift to his girlfriend who was at some point killed.

Or maybe he just lives here. I dunno. He might have been out last time I was here.

The other set managed to end up in a safe in the Grayditch underground, and was sought after by Grady, who was also killed. As I now know, Grady was hired by that prick Ronald from Girdershade, who knew and was enemies with Lug-Nut, and presumably wanted to steal his nightwear and use it to seduce Sierra as some bizarre, abstract form of revenge.

Making the connections, I'm going to now guess that it was Grady who killed Lag-Bolt's girlfriend, (though how either of them made it into the presidential metro is still anyone's guess), and that he did so trying to get the location of one of the nightwears out of her. Continuing on my baseless speculation, I'll assume that the nightwear ended up stashed away in Grayditch as a way of hiding it from Grady, or perhaps it was just being stored there, but he found out anyway, hence his note stating where it was hidden.

Then Grady was killed. I'm not sure when. If I recall correctly, he was already a skeleton when I came across him, and that was months ago. Lag-Bolt's lover was likewise also a skeleton when I found her. So this probably all happened a long time ago.

Lug-Nut probably confronted me _not _because I had just barely beaten him in a race to safe as I originally thought, but because he was living down there, that was just where he stored his possession, he saw me trying to take it, and he was just warning me to give it back and go away.

So instead of hunting after some treasure at the behest of a murdered man's notes, competing against an insidious raider, I was actually robbing someone in their own home of something they spent a lot of their own money having made, because I was told to posthumously by the guy that killed his brother's girlfriend trying to steal it himself. And he was in turn doing it because he was promised a measly number of caps by some asshole in Girdershade that had a problem with Lug-Nut.

And again, that's at least five people now who have DIED, over fucking SLEEPWEAR.

I swear, sometimes I just want to blow up the whole world.

**Day 186 Part 2: Back in the Citadel for the Night.**

Before we left Georgetown, I decided to take the sleepwear with me. Also the combat armour Lag-Bolt was wearing, because it's a stronger variant than the usual models, and I like to collect unique weapons and armour, as anyone who knows me by now should be aware of. I also took his shades.

Stopped by Reilly's place too, to give her the Adams map. She's really just waiting for me to properly map Vault 87, but fuck if that's the first thing on my mind right now.

Tomorrow, I'm going back to Megaton.

**Day 187: Rest.**

Back in Megaton. Turned all my Quantum bottles into Nuka grenades, like usual. Stored away all my souvenirs, too. That includes Lag-Bolt's armour and shades, the nightwear, the Tesla cannon, the two flamers, the new Gatling laser, and the recon helmet.

In other news, spent most of the late evening today working with Moira on some repair work. It's been difficult, but we got the Chinese stealth armour back in pristine condition. At last! We didn't even have any parts to repair her with, since hardly anything else in the wasteland is even remotely similar, but I was able to jury-rig a solution out of whatever was laying around.

Let it never be forgotten: I am a genius.

And what time was left over, I spent repairing the Enclave Hellfire armour I had taken from Adams. With that now in top condition too, I have stored away both it and the Chinese armour in my locker. I have no need to do any more fighting for a long, _long _time. I just felt uncomfortable not having something I could _potentially _use when a fight does break out.

Now I just plan to live out my days a bit peacefully for a change. My friends have all collectively decided to split up again now, since I'm not planning any further adventures. I don't really blame them. They all have lives to get back to.

Cross returned to the Brotherhood of Steel to go handle things there. Last time I was at the Citadel, it was mentioned that the Brotherhood's main goals now are scavenging Enclave tech from wherever it's found, gathering super mutant blood samples from any of the few remaining in D.C., or finding parts for the eventual repair of Liberty Prime. All well and good, but not something I'm interested in, so Cross is off to help them with that.

Butch meanwhile has no desire to sit around my place and do nothing, so he's off to Rivet City. I hope he makes a new life for himself there. Rivet City's a good place. And more like living in a vault than anywhere else in the wasteland, I guess. Even this place, which is specifically decorated to resemble one.

And Fawkes is off walking the wasteland again. I think he said he was heading for Underworld. Most likely place in the wasteland for anyone to accept a super mutant resident. Ghouls know better than to judge by appearances.

Charon's staying with me for the time being though. He's really got nothing to do beyond staying with me, so I won't shut him out. He can stay, as long as he doesn't get easily bored. At least I have someone else to take care of Dogmeat for when I'm busy with other projects.

And speaking of other projects, maybe now I can get started on modifying that medic power armour? I did say I wanted to replace the AI with something more docile.

Like I said, I've been considering Wadsworth. I'm not sure how effective he'd be, considering he's a mister handy AI and this is a power armour onboard computer, but... Well, I'm sure I could reprogram him with the appropriate changes. All these RobCo, General Atomics and Vault-Tec systems are compatible anyway. It shouldn't be too hard.

Then again, power armour was developed by West Tek, wasn't it? Are they...? Bah. Who cares? I'll make it work. Just watch me.

**Day 188: New Plan.**

So, today I had the most sudden epiphany. Trying to take Wadsworth apart wouldn't do me any good, because then I'd be down a robot butler, and he's the only one who can dispense water from the condensation filters. Much as I like a good bottle of Aqua Pura, I don't want to rely on it. And besides, he's not a combat AI anyway. What good would he be?

That's when I thought again of M.A. .T. All alone down in the presidential metro, no longer with any purpose to her existence, supremely intelligent and already with a lot of combat related programming built in, even if probably not anything related to medicine dispensing or running power armour diagnostics.

That doesn't matter though, because I can program all that in. I'm a wizard with computers. I could do it. I could so totally do it. All I'd need is a RobCo terminal and the code for the medic armour's already existing gutsy AI. And I have both of those! So today, I set out into D.C. again with Charon to get into that presidential metro and download her onto my Pipboy for me to tinker until I've got this working.

I didn't go out in armour this time. Just a pre-war business suit I picked up. I didn't even bring any weapons. Well. Stabhappy and Blackhawk, but all the rest of the arsenal I stored away. I'm done fighting for a while, like said. And Charon's got me covered anyway.

We haven't quite made it to the presidential metro today though. We made it to Underworld and met Fawkes again. It's only been a day since I last saw him, but we still decided to hang out for a bit and talk. Though, he won't be joining us again. I think he too is starting a new life now. Regardless we're staying here for tonight and concluding our trip tomorrow.

Oh, and before I forget, I went through dad's old stuff this morning. You'll never believe what I discovered. Rock-it launcher schematics. For real. They were hidden inside the frame for the _Revelations _quote. It's like, oh my God. Even all this time later, dad is still throwing surprises at me. What next? I'll bet he turns out to have secretly been an alien too. I fucking bet it.

**Day 189: M.A. .T. Acquired.**

Three Dog finally got to reporting on the Enclave's final defeat today. The man sounded ecstatic.

Anyway, I went down into the presidential metro, as I said I would. M.A. .T. is now in my Pipboy, and I'm planning to take her back to Megaton to finish my work with her. She's not happy right now, being unable to interact with any of her usual systems, but she'll thank me when I'm done with my reprogramming. Giving her purpose again is better than letting her rot down there forever.

I'm actually heading back towards Megaton right now, but I did stop by the Citadel for a brief moment today. Mostly checking in on friends. Elder Lyons is in good spirits, Sarah's taken a real liking to me now, in contrast to when we first met, Marie's doing good, Cross is out on assignment again, and most of the other guys are on new Enclave related projects now. Except Yearling. The library project is done, and she's now been assigned to Project Purity.

So I'll get back to Megaton at some point later today, and tomorrow hopefully I can make some headway on my new project. Look at me. A scientist, just like dad.

**Day 189 Part 2: Weirdo.**

As I was walking across the wasteland earlier today, some freaky bearded guy ran up and hugged me. Said it was thanks for all the good I did. At least SOMEONE still knows who I am without me having to tell them, but seriously, the fuck?

Oh, and he gave me a pamphlet advertising some riverboat trader service that'll be stopping by the Capital Wasteland near the Citadel soon. Mostly, it's trying to advertise these fruits that he's selling, which admittedly sound appealing, but what catches my eye is the ferryman's promise to take anyone willing to go with him back to Point Lookout where he comes from, if they're at all interested in adventure. Bearded guy implied I might want to do that.

So... Looks like I've got one final adventure ahead of me after all.

* * *

**A/N:** So it turns out 's doc manager actually _creates_ spelling mistakes when I upload documents already edited to perfection, and attempts to correct the mistakes simply will not save. So, I'm sorry about all the instances of "M.A. .T." when the actual computer from _Broken Steel_ is most certainly _not_ named that, but it's really beyond my power to correct. And that's why I have a Google docs version.

I'd also like to formally apologise for every single time I've seen stories on this site with spelling mistakes even a child shouldn't make and thought less of the authors for not taking the time to correct it; I'm sorry, guys. I had no idea this site was so bad.


	28. Week Twenty Eight

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Twenty Eight**

**Day 190: Margaret.**

Spent today working on reprogramming M.A. .T., and I think I've got it down. Reprogramming an AI as intelligent and complex as her was a challenge that took me most of the day. Not at all like hacking the average RobCo terminal, which takes me a minute, tops. The old girl had quite the brain inside her. In retrospect, I'm surprised she could even fit on my Pipboy, considering her file size.

And I was right about the compatibility. Wasn't too much of a problem. Hooked up the Pipboy to a RobCo terminal and the power armour, and I was able to handle it all from there. The drill sergeant dickhead who was originally in the armour put up a fight, but I shut him down and tore the code out, and it was a simple matter to embed the right string of code into M.A. .T. to optimise her for the power armour.

Of course, now she's no longer the Metro Authority Rapid Governmental Transit System, so her name's become obsolete. I've re-designated her simply as "Margaret" now, which is the name I think they were playing on when they gave her the acronym.

She disliked her day of confinement inside the Pipboy, but she's much happier now. Or as happy as an emotionless AI can be, anyway. She is capable of having wants and desires though, expressing gratitude, holding an opinion on individuals and interacting with them, and she has comfort levels as well.

Her primary function was running the metro tunnels, but I've removed that obsolete programming from her. Without her prime directive screaming at her to get back to the metro tunnels and continue defending them from ghouls, she's now able to appreciate her freedom from them much more. And now she'll be able to put all that intelligence of hers to good use.

The medic power armour is her new home now. Of course, I need to be wearing it and she and the armour need to be interfacing with my Pipboy to get anywhere, but she's much more mobile now. And what's more, since she can interface with my Pipboy and is far more intelligent and designed to remotely control other systems, that means she can perform a wider array of functions than the old AI.

Instead of just dispensing Med-X, I've also got the stimpak dispenser working now. By monitoring my vitals through the Pipboy, she can determine the nature of any of my injuries, say a crippled arm or radiation poisoning, and recommend a proper course of treatment.

And she's also got the appropriate combat logistics from running all those robots to better direct me in a fight. So she'll analyse my opponents through the V.A.T.S. calculation matrix in real time, be able to improve my accuracy, recommend weapons and ammo choice, where to aim, where to position myself, what colour I should paint the walls, what she thinks of the weather, and she can lecture me on my drinking problem and complain to the neighbours too.

I'm also pretty sure she's got an alarm clock function.

So yes, I'm very happy with today's work. If I ever need to fight again, Margaret will ensure that I always have the edge. Not that I didn't always have an edge before, you understand, but she still helps. I'm such a genius.

In other news, I've checked out this Point Lookout place.

According to my Pipboy's map data, the advertisement was referring to Point Lookout National Park in Maryland. It's right at the end of the Potomac river. A fair distance away. I did some calculations, figuring out the length of the Potomac, converting miles into nautical miles, running that against a conservative estimate of the boat's speed, and I'm coming up with a two day trip. Two days if we head straight there non-stop. So this'll be a long ride.

I had best pack myself some supplies.

**Day 191: Tobar.**

I went down to the Citadel and found the ferryman. As I write this, I am currently sailing away to Point Lookout aboard the _Duchess Gambit_, a steamboat with its captain as the only crew. Which is bad, because that means we won't be travelling non stop. And even if we were travelling non stop, my calculations still make it thirty five hours of travel time at our current speed. And we have stops to make along the way as well.

Tobar's okay though, and the punga fruits really are to die for.

Charon and Dogmeat didn't come along for the ride. I left them in the Citadel for this one. Loyal friend though he may be, I think I've asked enough of Charon, and I felt the Brotherhood needed his help right now more than I do. Plus, I don't really want to bring Dogmeat on a two day boat trip. He needs to walk around and do things, not be stuck in one place for ages. Plus, I don't know if he'll get seasick or not.

I did bring along the medic power armour and Margaret though. Not because I'm expecting a challenge, but I do want to field test the old girl, and I'm sure Point Lookout will have a few ghouls and mutant insects for me to try her out on at least. It'll be fun. I've brought along Blackhawk and Stabhappy for the trip. I figure those are all I'll need, and I don't want to weigh myself down carrying too much unnecessary baggage.

Though if I _do _meet anything that requires a high power rifle to deal with during my little holiday, I'm sure I'll be able to find a gun around _somewhere _up there. I mean, this place _is _still in America.

One other thing to note is that some woman named Catherine approached me on the pier before I boarded the _Duchess Gambit_, asking for help. Her daughter stowed away on the ship and ran away to Point Lookout. Girl called Nadine. I'm going be on the, ahem, lookout for her when I reach the place. So that's something to do.

**Day 192: Still Sailing.**

It's a day later, and we're getting there. Slowly but surely.

We stopped by a small village of sorts, and Tobar went trading with the locals. I considered going out to explore this place a bit, but we were only staying for an hour, and it didn't look like there was much to the area anyway. Just depressing poverty and shitty living conditions. Normally the kind of thing I'd jump right on and try to fix, but I doubted I could save their entire village in an hour. So fuck it.

Nothing's really happening though. Nothing to report. I'll write more when we actually get to the place where exciting things are happening.

**Day 193: Arrival.**

Point Lookout is as miserable as I expected it to be. Tobar let me off near a place called Pilgrim's Landing, which is a small boardwalk area and looks to have once been a tourist attraction. I didn't stay long the first time I arrived though. There was smoke in the distance, and I had to go check it out. My curiosity led to me meeting Desmond.

Desmond is a ghoul. A very loud ghoul, but one who knows how to handle himself and isn't modest about it. He was taking refuge in Calvert Mansion when I found him, fighting off an attack by some locals. Point Lookout's local population aren't like wastelanders in D.C. though. Human society here has regressed back to tribalism. I'm not sure how worried I should be.

But anyway. Desmond's pretty badass, and he taught me some new technique for standing my ground against oncoming attackers. Really quite effective, actually. I had opportunity to use it against some enemies later, but I'll get to that. He tasked me with finding out exactly _why_ these freaks were determined to be such a problem, and to do that I need to head up to their cathedral north of here.

I've made that my task for tomorrow. For the moment, I have returned to Pilgrim's Landing to continue my exploration of the immediate area. Though I took a roundabout way of getting here. When going to Calvert Mansion in the first place, I just cut across land to it, but this time I went around, more closely following the roads.

Then I wandered off the roads, as I am wont to do, and came across a camp site. The residents of the camp attacked me immediately. That's when I got to try out Desmond's technique for the first time, and it worked out pretty well. I almost died, but I think I did okay for my first time at it. To be fair though, those bastards were _tough_. The same can be said of the tribals too. Give them one thing, Point Lookout's people are hardy.

Not even sure what was wrong with the camp inhabitants though. They looked to be very strongly mutated. Not ghouls, not super mutants, but something... else. They didn't even look cancerous, per se. Whatever they are, radiation alone didn't make them like that. There's some other factor at play in their development, but the mutants here are special. Unique, in a twisted way.

I soon made it back to Pilgrim's Landing, and I've been exploring the place here ever since. I've found another trader aside from Tobar here. Madame Panada is her name, and she runs a small outdoors store called the House of Wares. I guess it would have to be outdoors, because with her being literally the only other person living here, any tourists would write off any indoors store as another pre-war ruin and miss her.

Speaking of pre-war ruins, I've been looking at those. There are four standouts here. The naval recruiting centre, the bank, the warehouse, and the motel. The motel was the most interesting place, because while it had only three accessible rooms, all of them were inhabited by some VERY interesting people.

In one room, what appear to be the corpses of a pair of bank robbers. Lots of old pre-war money lying around, while none can be found in the bank just down the road, which I also looted. Though what that bank did have was plenty of corpses that look to me like they were shot.

In the next room, none other than the scene of a murder by the Pint-Sized Slasher himself. The pre-war serial killer who I read about in those old newspapers isn't a myth after all. He was real, and he was active in Point Lookout during the final days of the war. What's more, I even have his mask now.

And in the final room we have, get this, a Chinese spy infiltrating America by pretending to defect. I found this out through the terminal entry in that motel room, and followed the directions on it and a key in the room to a locker out on the Point Lookout boardwalk. The locker contained an audio holotape that allowed me to bypass a voice recognition lock in the bank and retrieve the spy's orders.

The spy, Agent Jiang, was tasked with locating a fellow operative named Wan Yang, who I've seen a few wanted posters for around here. She apparently held the self destruct codes for a Chinese submarine just a little way out from Point Lookout, and Jiang was meant to get the codes and use them to destroy it before any Americans could start taking a closer look.

Got to admit, my curiosity has been piqued. Especially since I know exactly where to find Agent Yang. Because once I finished looting both the bank and motel, I got started on the naval recruitment office, and while there I just happened to stumble across a terminal entry revealing that she was sent to Turtledove Detention Camp. I guess that's my secondary destination once I'm done helping Desmond.

And I did manage to to take a look inside the warehouse while here too, and looted it. Most of what I recovered today was pre-war money, chems and other useless things. I sold that at the House of Wares, and have now taken to staying in the motel for the night. I did recover _some _useful or interesting stuff though.

For a start, new weapons. Recall that I came here with only a revolver and a knife, because I was feeling relaxed and maybe just a little bit smug. Power armour should be enough to keep me safe here, I figured. Not quite the case though.

Very few tribals or mutants ever managed to actually hit me at any point, because I've been doing this a long time and I know a thing or two about combat. These guys are relentless though. They hit like a motherfucker and take Magnum rounds to the chest like deathclaws. So obviously I needed to step up my game for this.

To that end, I've obtained a few backup weapons. A double-barrel shotgun for close range combat, a lever-action rifle for shooting further away targets, and an axe I took off a dead mutant for breaking skulls. Desmond also had a few items in his mansion that I was free to make use of, including an assault rifle, a submachine gun and a few frag grenades too. Also a flamer and minigun, but I don't want to drag those around if I can help it.

Other stuff I've found here includes a police hat from the Point Lookout bank, which I've taken to wearing at a jaunty angle because I'm feeling whimsical and carefree today, a stealth boy, which is good because I didn't bring any of my others with me, an old confederate army hat from the civil war I found in the upper levels of Calvert Mansion, and of course that mask that the Pint-Sized Slasher wore.

There were also two mini nukes to be found around Pilgrim's Landing, but they're heavy and useless to me without a Fatman to fire them from, so I sold them both.

So now it's late, and I've decided to amuse myself before I go to bed by writing this journal and starting with a complete mapping of this place too. I don't know if Reilly will pay me for mapped locations for some random swamp in Maryland, but hey, she paid me for mapping the Pitt. I've added markers for the campsite I came across, Calvert Mansion, the motel, the House of Wares, the pier, and just for good measure I added another to note Pilgrim's Landing in general.

Tomorrow, I've got a lot more adventure ahead of me. I hope I'm prepared for it. So far, this place has been kicking my ass harder than expected.

**Day 194: Interesting People.**

Heading up the path north to the cathedral today, I kept veering off and finding strange sites and people. Firstly, before I hit the bridge, I noticed a little building in the distance along a side road that would eventually return to Calvert Mansion. Since I had never taken that road though, I missed it the first time.

That place turned out to be another store. It was called Haley's Hardware, and it was maintained by a very strange man who claims to have one day woken up here with amnesia and taken the name Haley and his job as a trader because people kept coming by looking to purchase things. He says he does business with local smugglers and the swampfolk, who tolerate him because he's been around a while.

"Swampfolk" is apparently the name of those mutants I came across the previous day, and which I've found more of since. Talking with Haley and a few others I met over the day, I've come to the conclusion that the other factor in their development was inbreeding. That creates mutations and other undesirable effects just by itself. Radiation is the same. Put them together! You get some kind of fucking weird swamp hillbilly.

From there, I proceeded back along the normal path and went across a bridge northwards, where I met and fought some more swampfolk. Past the bridge a little way, I wandered off into the swamp, and came across some woman's shack. Not one of the swampfolk, but another human like Haley and Tobar.

Her name is Marguerite, and she makes moonshine. I was feeling charitable, so I fixed her still for her. She wanted me to help make some more, actually. First tried faking sickness to get my sympathy, but you know me. Medical professional, and a kind enough soul to offer to help regardless.

Nope. Couldn't say that with a straight face.

Once she told me the ingredients though, I thought better of it. Yeast, punga fruit, and fucking FISSION BATTERIES. I mean, we're all on the same page here, right? Fission batteries don't mean something different in Point Lookout, do they? Because if not, why the FUCK would I EVER ingest anything that has fission battery refuse in it?! That's almost as fucking stupid as mixing wonderglue and molerat meat! OH WAIT.

So yes. I told her that I'd be back eventually with the stuff she asked for and left the shack intending to never return. Poured the moonshine from the old batch she gave me into the swamp too. I mean, I'm fine with moonshine by itself, despite its less than stellar reputation and legal status before the war. Lord knows I've put worse things into my body during my time in the Capital Wasteland. But fission batteries is where I draw the line.

Continuing along the path, I then found a branch, with one side leading off to Turtledove. I didn't go there right away though, as that's still for later. Instead, I ended up coming across a cave/mine inhabited by some kid called Kenny. Felt a little bad for him, living on his own in a place like this. Stayed a while. Played some games with him. I'm still at his cave now as I write this, actually. Not because I stayed for the rest of the day though. I came back later.

After I left Kenny's cave, I continued north, passing by a wrecked truck, and eventually came up to the Ark & Dove Cathedral. Following Desmond's directions, I tried to appeal to the idiot tribals to get me to join them, but they instead gave me some task to "prove myself" first, or something to that effect. I need to go to the other side of Point Lookout and find some plant thing and... whatever. It doesn't matter.

It's a bit further than I'm willing to walk today though, I'll tell you that much. So instead I just spent the rest of the day hanging around that area. I checked out the graveyard outside of the cathedral, which was full of ghouls. I went to go kill them all, but was beaten to it by a gang of smugglers. Then they started shooting at me, so I killed them instead.

I also found a small coastal grotto, inhabited by a ghoul named Plik. Well, I say "found". Tobar told me about it. I never would have found it by myself, as reaching it required I scale down the side of the cliff from Ark & Dove. But he ran a safari of sorts, where he'd release feral ghouls, and people would pay a thousand caps for the opportunity to fight them in waves.

Two other guys already had when I entered. They died in the fight. Me though, I survived. Yes, of course I participated. It sounded like a fun time. There's nothing wrong with killing ferals, and it's been ages since I killed something just for the sake of killing it. My new persona since Oasis is a lot more restrained than that. Cutting loose every once in a while is good for me. And Plik's safari was harmless, so why not?

Since it was my first time and I survived it, I won a special prize. Got an axe that used to belong to a previous contestant. It's called the Dismemberer, and it's a touch sharper than my standard axe. It's a welcome addition to my arsenal. And I also got a quick peek at Plik's journal down there.

Not his private diary, mind. It's actually more a collection of notes on ghoul behaviour and biology. There were more than a few interesting tips on how to kill ghouls in there. The kind that could only have been gathered through years of research and observation. Some of these suggestions really are kinda out there, but I have tried them on a swamp ghoul or two since leaving the cave, and they work alright. I could probably apply the same techniques to humans, now that I think about it.

And then I found I couldn't climb the cliffs again, so I had to go around. While doing so, I came across the entrance to Herzog Mine.

There was a smuggler group above me as I came near. One guy was shot and fell down the cliffside. I found an audio holotape on his body, a confession that explained he stole from his group and so was being executed for it by his father and brother. I saw them up on the cliff. Shot at them myself in return. I killed three, at least one of whom I think is the brother. Not sure about the others. If there were more, they ran away, but my Pipboy didn't show any more red dots.

Then I proceeded into the mine, which was full of traps and someone making ghost noises. Then, mother of all coincidences, it led back into Kenny's cave and he turned out to be the one who had trapped Herzog Mine. He told me a bit about its history, and then I noticed how late it was, so I decided to stay the night here. And that's when I started writing this journal.

Will probably be up for a few more hours, but at least I've got some company. Kenny's a good kid.

Didn't collect nearly as much loot today as I normally do, but I have made significant progress in mapping out the northeast of Point Lookout. I added markers for Herzog Mine, the exit to Kenny's cave, the cathedral, the graveyard, the grotto, Marguerite's shack, the truck wreckage, and Haley's Hardware.

Tomorrow I'm going to head out, going to Turtledove first, and then maybe to this sacred bog the tribals want me to travel to if the route through the swamp doesn't prove too treacherous. Fortunately, though the swampfolk, tribals and smugglers are all tough bastards and my weapons are pretty weak, power armour is still more than adequate protection for anything this place can throw at me. Plus I have Margaret, and she's damn good at her job.

And on a final, odd note, Kenny revealed that he has a special treasure in his cave that he let me see. A mask purportedly belonging to the Pint-Sized Slasher. And yes, it's identical to mine. He says that it's the genuine mask as worn by the famous serial killer, which he happened to find in this mine when he moved in. Then I showed him mine, which I found at the murder scene. Neither of us have any explanation. I guess the Slasher just made a spare mask at some point.

Weird.

**Day 194 Part 2: Hold the fucking phone.**

I literally JUST realised this.

Smuggler. Noun. Someone who imports or exports without paying duties.

Paying duties to fucking WHO?! It's been two hundred fucking years since we had a government that was meant to regulate exports and imports that people have to pay duties to, and the last remnants of that government just got their ass kicked by ME a few weeks ago! How the fuck are these guys "smugglers"?! What, did they just like the sound of the word?! And what are they even smuggling?! They don't even seem to actually be transporting anything!

Furthermore, whoever they're "smuggling" their goods past, they're doing it because they plan to sell it to someone, RIGHT?! So if these guys are just really shady merchants, WHY DO THEY SHOOT AT ME ON SIGHT?! I COULD BE A POTENTIAL FUCKING CUSTOMER!

I've decided that these guys aren't smugglers. They're a raider gang that have named themselves "The Smugglers," because they have no idea what the fuck a smuggler actually is and why it's impossible to be one when America exists in a state of anarchy. Or maybe they really are traders of a sort, but they're just fucking retarded. I don't know.

Either way, they're idiots.

**Day 195: Around.**

Woke up this morning in Kenny's cave. Took me a while to remember why I was there. I had dreams about the vault again, only this time I was a teacher, and I was managing a special needs class. It was full of wastelanders, tribals, inbred swampfolk, Smugglers and Atom cultists, and I was trying to explain the concept of pre-war export and import laws to them. It was strange.

So I took the path up to Turtledove Detention Camp and looked around there. It was full of ghouls and security robots. A tough fight, but nothing me and Margaret couldn't handle. I found the Chinese spy too, and got the detonation codes off her corpse. Since I already have the location of the submarine, I just need to swim out there now. I think if I detonate it, then if their satellite is by some miracle still working, it might reveal something interesting.

After I was done at the detention camp, I went southwest, trying to make my way toward the sacred bog. Instead, I came across a trash heap. I scavenged through it for a bit, but found nothing much. I did find a big hole in the ground though, and it looks like there was an excavation team here before the war. They were seeing if the region was okay to mine for natural gas. The holotape I found suggests that there are more around. And indeed, I found another later.

Heading west, I then found a shack belonging to some swampfolk. Inside in the basement, they'd trapped some ghouls and swamplurks, but I killed them. I got ambushed as I tried to leave. Then I went north, and came across a crashed jet plane. I found another of the excavation sites near here, and recovered another holotape.

Then I found a yao guai's lair. It's the only one of its kind I've found in Point Lookout so far, and judging by the presence of a red rubber ball, I think this one used to be a circus performer. She was huge, too. Harmless though. Yao guai like me. So I left well enough alone and got out of there.

I went south again, and actually passed by the sacred bog entrance, but by that point it was really late and I couldn't be asked to go through all that at the moment. So instead, I made tracks for another nearby shack. This one was also a swampfolk home, but it was actually a farm. Punga fruit was growing there. Lots of it. I think the swampfolk might be selling it to Tobar.

After killing all the farm's inhabitants and picking myself a decent amount of fruit for the night's meal and for the journey tomorrow, I settled down for the night. I made sure to lock the place up tight, in case there are other swampfolk out right now and they come back later. Don't want to be asleep when a bunch of those freaks come here.

Throughout the day, I collected other loot as well. Only a few notable items though. A Nuka-Cola Quantum, a toy knife, three mini nukes and two stealth boys. I found a holotape here, too. It's an audio recording of a person saying a password. I think it's meant to unlock a vault of the bank in Pilgrim's Landing. I'll try it out next time I'm there.

I've added markers to my map for the trash heap, both shacks, Turtledove, the crashed jet, and the sacred bog entrance. And speaking of the bog, I'll be going there first thing tomorrow morning. Wish me luck.

**Day 196: baaaaaaaaaaaaack.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer:** Diary. DIARY. Oh my God! I'm like... Jeeeeeeeeeeez! What was I _thinking_?! Moonshine with fission batteries in it? That's a GREAT idea! I'm not sure what was going through my head, not thinking that was fucking brilliant, but I want it now! Oh, and uh... I just woke up outside the sacred bog again. I went in, touched the pretty fruit, and it hissed at me, and then I had a funny dream with lots of pretty colours, and it was nice. Except for the mean vault boys. They weren't nice. They said mean things on them. And it hurt my feelings. But I'm okay now, and I just want to go help Magra... Maragara... the nice lady, with her moonshine problem. I need to find some fissiob batteries! Hehe. Fissiob. That's not what I meant to say. Fission. Fissiob. Funny words. Tehe. I'm going to go find some... **[Smirking.]** fissiob batteries now! **[Laughing.][Pipboy beeping.]**


	29. Week Twenty Nine

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Twenty Nine**

**Day 197: Diary thing.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer:** Today, I went and got the nice lady the batteries and yeast, and she made me the moonshine she said she would. Also punga fruits. It didn't taste nice, but it made me feel all weird, and I like when that happens. Then I was sick in the swamp. I also found another hole with the holotape about gas in it by an old playhouse. Then near that, I found a biiiiiiiiig lake, and it had glowing Nuka-Cola bottles floating on it. So I swam out and got them. Then I stopped swimming because I was tired and nearly sank because of the power armour. But it was okay, because I found a safe. I didn't remember how to open them except that it was something I did with bobby pins, so I just stuck it in and forced it, and found a stealth boy and some other things. Then I climbed out of the lake and was sick again. There were also a lot of ghouls and swamp men trying to hurt me, but I hurt them right back, and that taught them a lesson! I think there was something else I was meant to do today, but I think I forgot it again. Oh well. I'll remember tomorrow. Going to bed now. Nice lady is letting me stay at her shack. She's so nice. I hope she makes more moonshine. I like moonshine. Anyway, good night, diary!

**Day 198: BRAIN.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer:** Today I remembered what I was meant to do! Desmond asked me to go find the tribals and sneak into their group! Stupid tribals. They think I'm enlightened now. I'm not enlightened. Really, I'm just pretending. Stupid tribals. And then, I found Nadine. Girl who I was asked to find by the other lady. I told her to come home, but she said no. Then she told me my head had been cut open and a bit of brain removed! She helped with scar, but I still feel funny. I don't remember having so many problems with fixing stuff or opening locks before. What if I've got BRAIN DAMAGE?! I must have, because some of it's GONE! And Nadine went off to find out who did it, and asked me to meet her by the ferry in a few days. Maybe Tobar might know. I hope he can help me get my brain back. OH! And Nadine also told me where to find the leader of the tribals, called Jackson! He's in a cave someplace, but I'll get him later! I need to GET MY BRAIN BACK! Tomorrow. Right now, punga fruits.

**Day 199: IT WAS TOBAR. FUCKING TOBAR.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**Lone Wanderer:** Today, I went back to Nadine and talked to her by the pier, and she told me that it was TOBAR who took my brain! And I went into the ship to talk to Tobar, and he attacked me! So then I KILLED HIM! Because he said things about my dad that made me mad. I bet my dad could have beat up his dad. Then Nadine said she was taking his ship, so I could go home if I wanted. But I didn't want to, because I need to help Desmond still. So instead she let me just sleep on the boat tonight. And I took Tobar's clothes, because I can't sleep in power armour anymore, and they looked comfy. I tried to eat him too, but he still tasted yucky, so I threw him into the sea. Then I was sick again. My head hurts, and even though I found my brain again in a little jar, I can't figure out how to put it back. I feel really sad now. I'm going to miss being smart.

**Day 200: Glad that ordeal is over.**

Ooh! Finally! It's like a big hazy cloud of fog over my thinking has been lifted! I feel positively rejuvenated!

Perhaps I should explain.

In my temporary state of retardation thanks to that hick Tobar and his sick games, I wandered off from the _Duchess Gambit _earlier today without my power armour. I took all my weapons and other equipment with me, but left my armour behind in favour of just wearing the grifter's fit, which is the name of Tobar's outfit. My addled mind at the time prevented me from thinking ahead and realising that it was a bad idea to go out into swampfolk-infested lands without decent protection.

This was a blessing in disguise, however. During my mindless wandering, I had the good fortune to get shot by a group of swampfolk. Multiple times, in fact. They shot me, and shot me, and shot until they could shoot no more, and I lost so much blood and had so much tissue destroyed that it triggered another Oasis reaction.

Boom! Like a mini nuke, I once again burst with energy and exploded so hard it killed everyone near me, and it grievously injured the other poor fools who were close by. The swampfolk didn't know what hit 'em. Neither do I, still. What I do know is that once it was over, I was once again feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and completely new.

And I do mean _completely _new. New brain for starters, no longer missing that vital part that I needed to not be a knuckle-dragging neanderthal. New tongue, because everything tastes different again, punga fruits are now vile to me, and I have a craving for a brahmin steak. New skin, without the scar from the operation or any bullet wounds, and also black. Very black. I've never been black before. Not sure what to think of it. And I've noticed my voice is deeper too.

Whatever it means though, I'm no longer a drooling moron, and I appreciate that. I think I'm done questioning what exactly happened to me to cause this. I think I'll just assume that God is very happy with me and decided to give me a few extra bodies as a thank you present for doing his work, and live the rest of my multiple lives in happily oblivious acceptance.

I think that's a reasonable reaction to all this bullshit.

I went back afterwards and retrieved my power armour from the ship. Had to convince Nadine of who I was first, and that was fun to explain. I made up some story about magic pre-war tech from my vault doing it, because I didn't quite want to admit that I had no idea what does it either.

Then I returned to Kenny at his cave and had to do the same. I'm staying at his place until tomorrow, when I'll finally confront Jackson, leader of the cult. From him, I hope I can get some answers to Desmond's question, and put an end to all this stupid bullshit.

On an unrelated note, I've began to articulate what I got up to while I was in my impaired state, and added markers for the playhouse and the sinkhole I nearly drowned in on the map. I've also collected up all the loot I've gathered. I didn't pick up anything of note in my stupid days that I didn't somehow remember to mention in the audio logs anyway.

Except a particularly foul smelling shovel that I suspect is for handling fertilizer. I think one of the tribals gave it to me. While I would normally throw it away in disgust the moment I got my intelligence back, it might still make a decent weapon. And the fact that it smells of shit makes it a good candidate for the weapon I will most likely kill Jackson with.

Further entries tomorrow.

I still can't get over the fact I'm black now.

**Day 201: Jackson's Cave.**

Well... That happened.

Jackson and the tribe are worshipping and taking orders from a hologram of a brain that can only manifest in a cave beneath the cathedral, and he has been ordering them to attack Desmond and the mansion. The tribe are apparently more peaceful than that, usually. This isn't normal behaviour for them. But this brain guy is now here, and they've decided that he's a god.

The hologram brain hasn't given me a name, but he seems to have something against Desmond. They have history, by the sounds of it. Also he said a few times that he doesn't actually have a body anymore. I think he really is just a brain in a jar. Where that jar is and what it's attached to, I have no idea. He might be piloting a robobrain body somewhere, hooked up to a computer, or he could just be on a shelf. I haven't the foggiest.

He's tasked me with killing Desmond and getting rid of some jamming device for him, since the tribe have repeatedly failed to. Obviously, I'm not going to do that. But I will be seeing Desmond about this soon. I want to know who the brain is and what Desmond did to so royally piss him off. And I want to know more about this jamming device too. Against all odds, I appear to have found something truly new here.

And here was me thinking I'd seen it all.

I'm currently sitting inside a wrecked ship I came across while heading south around the coast again. I didn't want to go back through Herzog Mine, and instead decided to come out here and see what the ship was. It's called the _USS Ozymandias_, and it was commissioned by the Bysshe Company, the same people behind those survey teams I've been finding. Bysshe. Ozymandias. I see what they did there.

The holotapes I found proved helpful, actually. It helped me in unlocking the safes here, which had a few good items. Nothing really special. Chems, radiation suits, stuff like that. Only real interesting find was a few cannisters of biogas, which are flammable. Not really practical as weapons though, and useless for just about anything else. I plan to sell them to Haley next time I see him.

Tonight though, I'm staying in this ship. Not the most comfortable place to be, but I've had worse. I've added map markers for this ship, and for the wrecked seatub I entered Jackson's cave through.

**Day 202: An Active Day.**

Fucking Christ that was weird.

So I woke up this morning and went directly to Calvert Mansion to see Desmond. He was... surprisingly easy to convince that I was the same person.

He at first thought I was someone different and asked what the fuck I was doing there. So I told him, "I'm back from spying on the tribals. I know I look different, but it's still me. I sort of exploded and changed my appearance. It's a thing I do." And he just sighed, rolled his eyes, and said, "As if the freak with the rainbow coat wasn't bad enough." Then he just continued on about Calvert as if nothing strange had happened.

Calvert, I should explain, is the true identity of the hologram brain. The Calvert family were incredibly powerful before the war. They owned most of Maryland, had senators and governors in their family, and one of them was nearly president. I wouldn't be surprised if there were several prominent Calverts in the Enclave.

This brain is _Professor _Calvert, and he and Desmond have been enemies for a long time. They've been playing some kind of game over the centuries, and the attack by the tribals when the professor revealed himself marked the point where Desmond gained an advantage at long last.

He had a jammer capable of blocking the telepathic signals, (because telepathy is a real thing, apparently), and he tasked me with putting it up on a ferris wheel for him. On the way there, I got a telepathic message from Calvert, asking me to destroy it instead. I didn't, he got pissed, and then more tribals came after me once I'd finished installing it.

It gets worse though, because then I returned to Calvert Mansion to report back to Desmond, and the whole house blew up. I thought he was dead at first. I nearly died too. Again. But I fortunately managed to find a hidden entrance to a panic room underneath the ruins of the house, which Desmond had crawled into to survive the blast.

Then me and him immediately went to storm the lighthouse, where Desmond figured out that Calvert was hiding. And sure enough, there was a huge laboratory underneath it, with turret defences and robobrain guards. Without my usual weapons, it was difficult to fight past them all, but we did find Calvert at the end of the maze, and he is most certainly dead now.

Desmond is now rooting through the base's computers in search of data on Calvert's research, and he informs me that once he's done here, he'll leave the place to rot and head north to pursue his next rival from the old world. The game still goes on, it's just down a player now. I wish him the best. He's a fucking asshole, but I still hope he wins in the end.

And I've contented myself with cleaning the place out too, though me and Desmond obviously have different ideas of what's valuable. He assures me that what he's looking for won't interest me, and even if he's wrong and it does, I hardly think it'll be anything I can make use of. It's more than likely just information on whoever he's going after next. And while I'm all about fighting tyrants and evil doers, there's only so far I can travel.

Most of what I've collected is weapons. Laser weapons, mostly. Gatling lasers were the biggest finds. Though I did pick up an interesting device called a microwave emitter, which looks a bit like a modified mesmetron. I even found some mesmetron power cells down there, though the microwave emitter doesn't actually use them.

The good thing about it is that microwaves are pretty damn hot, meaning that armoured enemies don't have any real protection against this thing. A guy can be completely bulletproof in his big, spiky metal armour, but since metal conducts heat, this thing will still roast him alive regardless.

In terms of other loot I've found, there was also a few pre-war books. Nothing interesting, but I'm sure the Brotherhood will want them anyway. And Desmond's panic room had a lot of alcohol, weapons, armour, ammunition and a bottle of Quantum too.

I should also mention that I climbed to the top of the lighthouse earlier and searched around in there. The lighthouse is broken, but I found a note written before the war, mentioning that a truck carrying a new lighthouse bulb crashed somewhere around here. I think I know the truck it's talking about. Wonder if the bulb is still there?

I've added the lighthouse to the map and decided to stay here in the lab for tonight. It's probably the cleanest place I've found since coming here, and I don't want to waste the opportunity, especially since we killed all the cleaners here and it won't stay like that now.

Today has been very eventful, and it's about time I got some rest. At least this might mean an end to all the conflict around here.

**Day 203: Tourist Days.**

Desmond left in the night, so I woke up this morning to find myself alone. I was fine with that though, and soon ventured out to continue my holiday, foolishly hoping that I would now have some peace.

First thing that happened this morning when I left the lighthouse was that I got shot at by one of the Smugglers gang, sniping at me from some little island south of the lighthouse. She didn't hit me though, and I was able to snipe her right back. Dumb bitch.

That Chinese submarine was also nearby. I noticed it yesterday, but was putting off actually going down to blow it up. I don't have a power helmet with me, so that meant either getting cold water inside the suit, or stripping off the power armour to swim down there half naked. Neither prospect was any more appealing when it was nighttime and a lot colder. I did it though, and the sub was destroyed early this morning. Added a map marker for it while I was at it.

Then I had to cross the water again and get back to mainland Point Lookout, so I could continue looking around. I returned to Pilgrim's Landing, selling off everything I didn't need to either Haley or Madame Panada. That means the laser rifles and pistols, the Gatling lasers, the assault rifle, submachine gun, and various other equipment. Also chems.

I returned to the motel and reported back to the terminal in Agent Jiang's room. Turns out the Chinese satellite was still operational, and happy day, it picked up the destruction of the submarine. I was told where in the hotel room I could find a special key and a pair of cryptochromatic spectacles, which are special glasses that allow the user to see colours where they normally wouldn't be able to. Then I was instructed to go to Calvert Mansion.

I was expecting the mansion's destruction to interfere with this little adventure, but fortunately the place I was being directed to was a secret bunker underneath the aviary, rather than beneath or in the mansion itself. So it was unaffected by the blast. The spectacles and solving a puzzle allowed me to soon enter it.

I was guided into a room by a protectron and accessed a terminal, which gave me the message it would have given Agent Jiang if he had succeeded in his mission all those years ago. Turns out the Chinese were planning to betray and kill their agent once he was done, flooding the room with radiation, and only saying that the money he would have received had been wired to his family and that he should accept his death honourably.

Of course, I'm not a Chinese secret agent, so nuts to that. I shut off the radiation using the vent in the floor, and then opened the door up again with some marginally difficult hacking. Was a little frustrated that there was no real reward for my efforts, but to be fair, I didn't start doing this because I was expecting a reward, what with the people supposedly rewarding me being long dead.

I was just curious about what exactly the Chinese were doing here, and I'd say I got my wish there. Still not entirely sure what happened to Agent Jiang, but I think I can guess. Bombs fell, everybody died. Though the presence of this bunker beneath Calvert Mansion does shed a bit more light on Desmond and the professor's conflict. The Calverts could have been communist sympathisers. Wouldn't surprise me.

Though, the bunker and the submarine did turn up some stuff that could be considered my "reward" if I was really stretching it. Two stealth boys, a mini nuke and a gun called the backwater rifle, which is a lever-action rifle but far more powerful. There was a lot of other Chinese weapons in there too. Assault rifles mostly. Picked them up and took them with me as well.

The last thing I did for the day was to return to Nadine and sell her the mini nuke, Chinese weapons and my original lever-action rifle, since the backwater is far better. Then I returned to the motel to bed down for the night. I would have taken her offer to stay the night on the boat with her, but the motel is warmer.

Tomorrow, I'm going to go back to the cathedral and see how the tribals are doing since I killed Calvert.

**Day 203 Part 2: Goddamn, I'm dense sometimes.**

JUST realised that Nadine was proposing sex. Going back to the _Duchess Gambit _now.


	30. Week Thirty

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Thirty**

**Day 204: Visiting Went Well.**

After an extremely satisfying night, I proceeded north this morning to check on the tribals at the cathedral. My return was acknowledged with a hail of gunfire, and the whole tribe descended on me. I was unfortunately forced to destroy them to the last man.

They took a lot out of me, though. I'll admit to being far more challenged taking on those tribals in power armour and with assistance from Margaret than I was killing all the Outcasts in Fort Independence by myself in only my vault jumpsuit. And that's not a bad thing. I don't resent them for being difficult to kill. If anything, I've come to respect the tribals as warriors, just as I respected Arkansas and Daniel Littlehorn for the trouble they gave me.

The tribe is dead now, though. So is their leader, Jackson. I descended the cliffs to confront him in his grotto. He was equally unhappy about the death of Calvert, but things were different with him. He spoke to me. I think I could have convinced him that his belief was exploited, and that his god was false. I could have saved him.

Sadly, I had to be honest and confess that I had just came back from butchering the rest of his people. Even if he would have listened to me before, he had no time for me after that. He attacked me just as the rest of them did, and I had to put him down as well. Another worthy foe, now gone from the world.

And I feel bad about these ones. The tribals were just misguided. I could have helped them. But instead, I had to kill them too.

It seems nowadays like I've killed most the population of Point Lookout. I went from one end of the swamp to the other, shooting every swampfolk I came across. Every tribal involved in attacking Desmond was slaughtered. I wiped out the cathedral. I massacred every Smuggler I saw. Jackson, Calvert, and Tobar I all killed personally. This place is _dead_.

Seriously. I've been all over this place since I arrived here, met almost every native of the region, and I can count the number of survivors of my adventure on just two hands; Haley, Marguerite, Kenny, Madame Panada, Plik, Nadine, and Desmond. And Desmond already left.

I guess you could count Panada's protectron and that yao guai if you were really stretching it, but I'm convinced that this place is done for. None of the business owners here are getting any more trade now that I've killed every potential customer they have. I hope at least that Nadine and the _Duchess Gambit _bring more tourists here soon.

I'm staying with Kenny again tonight, and he told me that there is a place still left for me to explore. It's called Blackhall Manor, and it's west of Pilgrim's Landing. I'll definitely check it out before I go back to the Capital Wasteland. Might be interesting to do some sightseeing while here.

I also picked up that lighthouse bulb from the crashed truck when I passed it earlier today. Thinking of going back to the lighthouse and installing it. Just 'cause.

**Day 205: Blackhall.**

Another busy day. I walked west from Pilgrim's Landing and took a look around the area. Came across a small graveyard at one point, and then found Blackhall Manor, just where I was told it would be. And it was still inhabited! By a descendent of the same family that owned it before the war, no less!

Mr. Obadiah Blackhall and I sat down and had a nice chat about the history of the manor, his family, the local area and other such things. I found him quite charming at the time, and he asked me to do a favour for him and retrieve a book that was stolen from his family by the swampfolk. Naturally, I accepted.

As I was leaving though, I was stopped by a Christian missionary from a place called the Abbey of the Road. I'm not sure where it is exactly, but it's somewhere near the Commonwealth, I think. That'll be the same Commonwealth where the Institute and Railroad are based, and where the androids come from.

Been hearing a lot about it, actually. Ashur mentioned it during my time in the Pitt, Tobar said he made trips up there before, and of course Zimmer and Harkness both talked about it briefly. I also think that's where Dr. Li went after Project Purity, when we thought the Enclave were dealt with. I really want to go there sometime. It sounds like an interesting place.

Anyway, the missionary. Her name was Marcella, and she's been in Point Lookout trying to convert the locals to the faith. Obviously, she hasn't been having much luck considering who the locals are. The swampfolk are all godless heathens that are into some creepy occult stuff, and the tribals... well, they worshipped a hologram.

To be honest, she picked the worst possible place for spreading her beliefs. The Capital Wasteland would have been a much better place to preach the good word. Lord knows, the poor bastards could use it. Capital Wasteland's way better off now than it was half a year ago when I left the vault, but it's still pretty miserable.

Side note: Has it really been half a year already? Fuck.

So she's been just slumming it in some outpost on the beach and helping what very few non-stupid humans are still alive in the region, which is a lot fewer now that I've been here. In her time here though, she made a discovery that Blackhall might be into the same creepy occult stuff as the swampfolk, because this book he wants me to get is called the Krivbeknir, and it's apparently some real scary stuff.

I have it with me now.

Marcella wasn't far off, in my opinion. Obviously, I don't believe in the occult. The Bible says that magic and voodoo and all that other shit is false and that true power comes only from God. And while I'm hardly a good Christian or adhere much to God's laws, I know what I believe. This thing though... I'd be lying if I said I didn't find it unsettling.

It's got a... presence to it. It just _feels _sinister. I don't think it's supernatural at all. I just think it and the people who use it are fucked. But seriously, I'm pretty sure the swampfolk were making human sacrifices to this thing. Whether I believe it has true power or not, its mere existence and the lengths people have gone to over it, plus the bloody and just plain morbid history of the thing is more than enough reason for me to not like carrying the thing with me.

So yes, it goes without saying that I did do as both of them asked and went to the ritual site where the swampfolk were keeping the thing, and I did steal it back.

I had to kill a lot of them to get it, and those fuckers don't die easy. They're like the tribals in that regard, except that I don't respect them as opponents like I did the tribals. The tribals I respected because they fought hard despite their shit armour and substandard weapons. These guys are cheating, because their heavy mutations make them artificially stronger. They're like super mutants, except even more retarded.

From the ritual site I recovered not just the book, but also another bottle of Quantum, a stealth boy which I sadly used already to get the jump on some swampfolk as I was leaving, and a decorative knife used for some of their weirdo rituals that I took with me as a souvenir of this journey, since it doesn't creep me out as much as the book itself.

I've put map markers down for the ritual site, Blackhall Manor, and that little graveyard I found too. Currently, I'm back in Pilgrim's Landing again, staying once more in the motel. I considered going back to Nadine again tonight, but I felt it was important to be alone with my thought for a little bit. I have a lot of thinking to do about this book.

I know its powers are bullshit, but Marcella nevertheless believes it important that it should be destroyed. I agree that it does, but Blackhall did ask me to get it for him, and... she could be wrong about him. And there's also the question of how much harm he could actually do if he does have it, or how dangerous his beliefs really are. I'm leaning towards Marcella's side though.

Maybe I'm a little biased in her favour, what with kinda sorta sharing a religion with her. That's why I've got to think about this. I want to be fair in this circumstance, and I don't want my own judgemental nature to cloud my perceptions. This situation is delicate, in a theological as well as a practical sense. I don't want to go pissing off any deities here.

I'll get back to this. Tomorrow, I'll go see the both of them and work something out.

**Day 206: My Way is Clear.**

God sent me a sign. My mission is clear now.

First thing this morning, I went to the pre-war disaster relief outpost for the New Plague where I knew Marcella would be waiting, only to find her dead. She had been attacked and killed by Smugglers. Searching around, I found her terminal and a holotape detailing her last words. The terminal had journal entries, detailing her travels and gathered data on the locals, with one mentioning me. She prayed for my safety. And I got her killed.

The holotape instructed me to take the Krivbeknir north, to the Capital Wasteland. It told me of a place where I can destroy it. Or, should destroy it, I should say. I could probably destroy it myself, but if she thinks I should go to this so called Dunwich Building...

I didn't take that well though. From there, it became crystal clear that I could not let Blackhall have the book. I went back to his mansion, and confronted him about Marcella's death. He basically confessed, and that's how I found that it was hired Smugglers who killed her, rather than swampfolk. Though, I did find several swampfolk hanging around nearby too.

So I did something that I haven't done in a while now. I killed a man in cold blood. Obadiah Blackhall is probably one of the most despicable people I've known, and I have met some monsters in my time. I can't really think of many people I hate more, to be honest. Ian West comes close, and no, I am STILL not over that, but I think the only people that really beat him are Mr. Burke and _maybe _that cunt Autumn.

Jesus fucking Christ, I'd forgotten how much I hate Ian West.

So yeah. Quick interrogation, then I shot Blackhall with the microwave emitter and disintegrated him. After that, I left to search the area some more and find those Smugglers. That's how I found those swampfolk I mentioned. They were hanging around a bunch of small sand islands near the beach. A note I found that led me to a buried footlocker of pre-war money called the place the Dove Delta.

I'm reasonably sure that those swampfolk I killed there may have been amongst the last in all of Point Lookout, but I could be wrong. I hope they were. Those sick fucks deserve to be exterminated and their poisonous occult bullshit needs to die with them.

I found the Smugglers though. They had taken up residence in the lighthouse since Desmond and I left. I went in to deal with them myself. They weren't too happy to see me, and a firefight resulted. Hiding behind cover for a while gave me opportunity to shout my questions at them as we fought. They didn't stop trying to kill me, but they did answer. These were definitely Marcella's killers. And that was all I needed to know. I showed no mercy after that.

And like that, I've officially brought down Point Lookout's local population to one ghoul, four humans including a child, a yao guai, and a single protectron. That's _all that's left of the entire region_. I've brought down such destruction on this place that it's unreal. I only killed those who were hostile to me or just evil motherfuckers, and that turned out to be _everyone_. It's like the Pitt all over again!

I may as well just face it, this place is doomed now. Plik, Haley and Panada aren't getting any more trade. The _Duchess Gambit_'s trips take weeks, so tourists coming here will be rare, and even when they do come it'll probably only be one or two guys like me. There's not enough of a population to sustain an economy anymore. Point Lookout is over. I've brought this place to its knees, and it isn't ever getting back up.

As far as final adventures go, I'll give that it's an impressive feat to single handedly exterminate an entire region without even trying, but this somehow wasn't what I had in mind. I thought I could be heroic here. Save people, help a blighted land, end tyranny...

Instead I got another change of face, killed lots of people, and the only person I really helped was some pre-war secret agent douchebag that was only a little bit better than the guy he was fighting. All I can do now is break the news the survivors about how fucked they are, and take this evil old book back to the Capital Wasteland to get rid of it. And hopefully, I'll do that soon.

I replaced the lighthouse's bulb, by the way. It's online again for the first time in a long time. I'm happy I did _something _good at least.

Picked up a stealth boy and pre-war book from the outpost while I was there, and added it and the Dove Delta to my map.

**Day 207: An Ending to Things.**

After staying last night in the lighthouse, I spent most of the day hiking across Point Lookout to find all the residents and break the news to them.

Haley I told first. He wasn't happy, but said he's lived here his whole life, or at least as long as he can remember. For that reason, he's going to be staying here. As he pointed out, the abundance of punga fruits in the region means that he's hardly in danger of starving without caps coming in, and that there might still be an odd tourist or surviving swampfolk in need of supplies that he can still sell.

Panada said about the same when I met her later on, though she was less upset and more confident that she didn't really need to go. She also said that she predicted something like this would happen, though of course she made no mention of that before I destroyed the tribals, swampfolk and Smugglers. Because her future seeing powers are bullshit. I've met real psychics, and she isn't fucking one of them.

Kenny and Marguerite were unconcerned, as they lived in isolation before anyway, and didn't much rely on the presence of tribals of swampfolk to get by in any fashion. Plik said the same, though where he gets his customers from if not from the tribals, I don't know. Unless he exclusively does business with tourists like me?

Anyway. So I went to see Haley, Marguerite, Plik, Kenny and Panada in that order, circling around the whole region and ending my journey when I returned to Pilgrim's Landing for what I think might be the final time.

Then I explained the situation to Nadine, and shortly afterwards we at long last began the return trip to the Capital Wasteland.

As I write this, it is late at night, and we are drifting away back towards home. The trip will be long, but I'm glad to be taking it. As we left Point Lookout, I thought back on all my experiences there, and stared out towards the now active lighthouse as it retreated into the distance. All the while, my thoughts were of how I was never welcome in this place.

I've been of arguable benefit to it. Yes, there are less evil fuckers like Blackhall in the world today because of me, but I can't help but feel the locals would have been far better off had I just left well enough alone.

Swampfolk may have hated me, but they and the other native humans seemed to have an understanding. Marcella probably would have been murdered whether I was around or not. Calvert might have dominated the land with psychic influence if not for me, but the people I saved from him I mostly just ended up killing. The only person who clearly benefitted in a positive way from my actions was Desmond, and I don't even like Desmond.

And Nadine. I talked to her, and to Margaret, as we left Point Lookout. It was something my AI partner had to remind me of, but I had succeeded in the mission that I came to Point Lookout to achieve. I was bringing Catherine's daughter back to her safe and sound, and now she even had a steamboat to her name. And there's all the other people that Tobar would have lobotomized if I hadn't stopped him.

On second thought, maybe this wasn't all a bust. Maybe there is something good to be said about my actions in Maryland. And I do still have one final good deed to perform. This fucking book needs to be destroyed, and I'm going to be the man to do it.

For Marcella.

**Day 208: Home's a Little Less Far.**

Passed by that little village from before today, but the journey is still ongoing. Nothing else to report.

I hate radioactive rain, by the way.

**Day 209: Back, at Long Last.**

It's late, but I'm back home. The Capital Wasteland. It's nice to see her again.

Catherine of course didn't recognise me at first, but Nadine assured her that it was me, and I was thanked and rewarded appropriately for saving her daughter. Well, I say "saved". Brought back. Nadine didn't exactly need saving when I found her, but... eh.

Added a map marker for the riverboat landing, before I forget.

I left the two to catch up, and began walking back to Megaton. I've got a lot of crap from Point Lookout to stuff into those lockers, if there's even any space left in them. Might not be, but I think there's a little.

I didn't make it all the way though. As you'd expect, I only made it as far as Dukov's place before it was too dark to go any further. I really didn't like that, since the rotting corpses of Dukov and the girls are still in here, stinking up a storm. I'm used to sleeping in ruins with fresh corpses, or skeletons. Neither of them bother me as much, because one just smells of blood, and the other of dust. But dead people that are already rotting are just foul in a whole new way.

At least I don't have to sleep directly next to them, but still...

Ugh. Should have just gone back to the Citadel and gotten it over with.

**Day 210: Behold, I Have Returned.**

Made it back to Megaton today. After... three weeks away, I'm just glad to be back.

Of course, I once again had to go about re-introducing myself. Lucas Simms gave me such a look. At first he thought I was bullshitting him. Then I passed a little memory test like I did last time to prove I'm the same guy.

That didn't lighten his mood though, because even once he was convinced it really was me, _then _he thought I was in blackface and took offence. So then I had to prove to him that it was my real skin. After that, he just threw up his arms and decided that he was done trying understand or make sense of me. I can relate.

I returned home after that, and started finally putting away all the crap I've been hauling. The grifter's fit, confederate hat, my jaunty police hat, Pint-Sized Slasher mask, Chinese spy spectacles, toy knife, ritual knife, the Dismemberer, the backwater rifle, the double-barrel shotgun, the microwave emitter, and the fertiliser shovel that I've continued to carry with me for some reason all found a home in my locker.

Then I just went out and had a good time with the people of Megaton. Drinks at Gob's, dinner at the Brass Lantern, quick stop by Moira's place to hear about how well the distribution of the _Wasteland Survival Guide _is doing. It's the happiest I've been in a long time.

I don't trust it. Something is going to come along and fuck it up soon. I can smell it on the wind.

Jesus, that fucking book gives me the creeps.


	31. Week Thirty One

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Thirty One**

**Day 211: Heading Out.**

Today, I left for the Dunwich Building. This trip has been a long time coming, and I felt it was about time I took it. I took with me only Blackhawk, Stabhappy, the medic power armour and a few Nuka grenades made out of the Quantums I found in Point Lookout. Also a small food, water and ammo supply and the book, naturally.

Oh, and the other pre-war books I found too. After I'm done with Dunwich, I plan to go straight back to the Citadel to reunite with Charon and the others. There, I'll hand over the books to the scribes interested.

I made it about halfway today. Went west first instead of straight southwest, and ended up in Jury Street Metro Station. Found a camp of ghouls there.

Apparently, they were associates of Roy Phillips in some fashion, and were rather upset about his death. They were out for revenge on whoever killed him. I'm not sure if they were from Tenpenny Tower, heading for it, or just roaming the wastes, or what. I do know that they attacked me on sight for being a "smoothskin" though, so they're dead now.

Then I went south and passed by VAPL-84, where I met a guy who killed a mirelurk. One of many people who learned how to do so from the _Wasteland Survival Guide_. I told him I helped write that, and he gave me his personal thanks for it. Nice to be recognised by someone other than Three Dog for helping with stuff like that.

Speaking of Three Dog, his news reports paint a surprisingly peaceful picture of the wasteland. Things sound like they're going good. Though one repeating news report appears to be about my leaving the wasteland, and I don't think he's noticed that I'm back yet.

I reached Tenpenny Tower, though. Well, Warrington. I don't feel comfortable leaving myself to the mercies of the ghouls of the tower while I sleep. I don't think they're the biggest fans of the Lone Wanderer. Even if they don't recognise me, that camp I found proves that there are some ghouls willing to just kill humans on principle. So I'd rather not risk it.

Did find one other interesting thing near Tenpenny though. A dead Chinese ghoul in a commando uniform. I think he might have been a survivor of the Chinese remnants from Mama Dolce's in the D.C. ruins. Followed a coded radio signal to find the body. Distress call, possibly. I think he might have been killed by the other ghouls guarding the tower.

Most of those ghouls are probably old enough to have been around since the war. Wouldn't be surprised if many of them still hate the Chinese and other commies for what they did back then. United in their ghoulish-ness, maybe, but looks like their loyalty to America came first. Poetic, in its own way.

Still...

I'll be continuing the journey tomorrow. Dunwich awaits.

**Day 212: Dunwich.**

After waking this morning and killing and cooking breakfast, (there was a brahmin herd hanging around Warrington Trainyard for some reason), I've made my way to the Dunwich Building.

I remember the place now. I came here before and marked the map location, but almost unique among the places I've been to in the wasteland, I didn't think to explore it at the time. Seeing it now, I think I probably made a wise decision there.

This place is haunting. Like the Krivbeknir itself. I thought it was weird when I first approached the place, and I noticed that there were no actual roads leading into its parking lot. Then once I got inside, I started finding the feral ghouls. I've dealt with them before. Plenty of them. And strong ones too, since I started encountering reavers. But I've never had to deal with them in such dark conditions before.

There were the logs I've been finding. Near the entrance of the building, there were five holotape diaries by a guy called Jaime, talking about his journey to find his father. His situation is not like mine though. His father was slightly crazy by the sound of it, and reference was made to some kind of book he had. Marcella mentioned that the Krivbeknir had made its way "back" to Point Lookout. Does that mean it was here before?

The fifth log ended with Jaime approaching the building, but there were more. As I went further inside, I found more holotapes. Poor guy had apparently never seen a ghoul before coming here. What a way to first encounter them. My first time meeting a ghoul was Gob. This guy's first time was _Dunwich_. And then the most recent entry I found was about how he'd found his father, and he'd been turned into a ghoul. And then he took the book off his father, and began going ghoul himself.

There were other terminal entries around. Auto-transcription software, like the kind I used, made these ones extra creepy. The first one I found was normal business stuff. I think Dunwich used to be a drilling company, (owned by a relative of the Blackhalls, unsurprisingly). Then there were two that I think were recordings of the apocalypse happening. Then recordings of them turning into ghouls too.

And that would be bad enough, but then they got _really _creepy. Started saying things like "Ug-Qualtoth is returned," and talking about a "deep-temple," "no light, no flesh," and "retribution".

Another terminal entry was by some wastelander who ended up trapped in here and died, confidently optimistic in his friend Billy who was coming with extra ammo and grenades. Unfortunately for him, Billy died the moment he got through the door, and I know because I found his skeleton and the boxes.

And there were other things to creep me the fuck out too. A bloody sketch here, a static emitting radio there, a door opened by itself at one point and stuff randomly fell over... The worst of all was a brief hallucination I had.

I walked into a room, and for just a moment, it was like I had stepped into the pre-war world. There was a normal guy, dressed for work, standing on the other side of the room. Everything was clean and not yet decaying. It was like that for just a second, but then it flashed away, and the man was replaced by a glowing one and I was back in the dark, run-down ruins again.

I swear I'm not crazy. It happened. I know what I saw. It must be something in the air here. I had an experience like this before, when I was in that vault. I had hallucinations due to the gas in the air. Except then, everything went blue, and I saw figures from my past in the vault, like Butch and Amata and my dad. But this was... different, somehow.

Even the behaviour of the ferals when they weren't attacking me was fucking weird. I sneaked around wherever possible so that I could get the drop of them and kill without bringing the whole building down on me, since I of course brought only a knife and revolver again, and I swear one of the motherfuckers was on its knees and praying to a fire hydrant rack.

Doesn't help that it did look kinda like a cross. Does that mean these ferals are _remembering _parts of their lives? Getting a bit of intelligence back? Though, that's not what terrifies me most about that. The real worst part is the idea that they're not. Maybe they're no less feral than any other zombies I've encountered, but it's just that this building is so _fundamentally wrong _that even a feral is afraid enough of it to start praying for mercy out of some instinctual memory.

Then again, maybe there is some comfort to be taken in that idea. Because if a feral had enough of that brief clarity of mind to pray for mercy, then its prayers were answered. I shot that feral in the head and I ended its miserable existence. It got its wish, and I'm doing God's work here. This is all part of a plan in some way.

Listen to me, getting all philosophical. I wasn't ever big on Christianity. I believed it in an abstract sense, but I wasn't an active practicer. I was pretty sinful too. My time in the wasteland proved it. And yet I shout Bible quotes when I fight and now I'm thinking of my presence here as part of the divine plan, attributing all this to God and assigning him responsibility for all that's happened.

This place is bringing out my religious side. Good. I think I need my faith in this darkness.

I need to go deeper into the building. I'm needed below. I've got to put an end to all this foolishness. No occult nonsense is going to get the better of me, and I will do as I was asked and destroy this wretched tome and all the vileness that comes with it.

**Day 213: I Believe.**

I did it. I beat the Krivbeknir. It's gone.

This place though is even more fucked than I thought it was. The virulent underchamber of the Dunwich Building was the most horrible place I've ever seen in my life. Consider that for a moment. Think of all the awfulness that I've experienced since leaving the vault. Every trauma I've survived, every bad place I've been to. Then you have context for what a big thing it is to say when I tell you that the Dunwich Building's underchambers were worse than all of it.

There was an obelisk down there. An obelisk and an altar. The obelisk was irradiated, and had the image of a woman carved into it. There were feral ghouls worshipping it, and they were led by a single non-feral. Jaime, the guy from the audio logs. His mind was still his own, because he had the mental faculties to attack me with an assault rifle. Yet he was twisted.

I found a final audio log from him. It simply said:

"Sharp knife. Sharp knife to send him to deep temple. Flay and say my words. Abdul comes again, on the feast of the weaker. Feast for the Deep Temple. Born again, here. Alhazred G'yeth G'yeth."

I fought him off. Killed him before he could get a decent shot at me. More ferals came almost out of nowhere to get me. There was a whispering in the air, repeating the names Alhazred and G'yeth. I heard it when I entered the chambers, and thought it was Jaime once I saw him. But after I'd killed all the ghouls, I could still hear it. I could hear it right up until I left.

And the way I killed the ghouls... Well._ I _didn't kill them.

I ran up to that obelisk and put the Krivbeknir onto it. I had thought that Marcella merely wanted for me to do the deed of destroying it myself here. That this place was important for some reason, but that I still had to be the one to actually destroy the thing. I was trying to place the book on the altar in preparation of setting it on fire with a match, but I willed for it to be destroyed, and suddenly... it was.

The thing burst into flames. The Krivbeknir was incinerated immediately, and all the surviving ghouls all caught fire and died. So did I. Catch fire I mean. Yet I survived it. The flames didn't hurt that much, due to the power armour.

And that is why I now... _believe_.

I was wrong. This isn't foolish occult business. This stuff is real. The Krivbeknir had real dark powers all along. That irradiated obelisk altar thing probably still does. How else could the book have spontaneously combusted like that, and destroyed all the ghoul worshippers? Why else would ferals of all things choose to worship an obelisk without some higher power or supernatural force willing them to? How else do I explain all the strangeness I've experienced in this building?

I've been forced to rearrange my belief system somewhat because of this. The Bible told me that all magic and occult stuff was false and not of God, and was a sin. I and many others interpreted that to mean that it was fake, and it was a sin because pretenders were claiming to have powers on par with God when they in fact did not.

I realise now that it's not like that. The occult is false in the sense that it does not come from God, but it isn't fake. Magic and the dark powers like the Krivbeknir were claimed to have are _very _real. And they're a sin because they're the product of demons.

Just guessing there. Don't know for sure. I never read a single word of that awful thing and I never intend to, so I don't know what source it got its powers from, or the obelisk, or who Alhazred, G'yeth or Ug-Qualtoth are. But if I had to put a name to these entities, that's what they are to me. They're _demons_. And that fucking thing came from Hell itself. I'm sure of it.

I've left the chambers now, and the whispering has finally left me. The building is dead again. Empty, apart from me and whatever eldritch horrors live in the walls. It's the very early morning now, and outside it'll be cold and dark. That's why I'm still in here as I write this. I want to avoid going outside for as long as possible, at least until I finish this entry. But I'm _not _staying the night here.

No matter what time of day it is, how sleep deprived I am, or how far I am from any other kind of shelter, I know I'm not spending a single fucking second in this building in any state of vulnerability. That's when they got Jaime; when he drifted off next to that evil thing in the underchambers. I'm not going to let the monsters get to me when my guard is down. Especially not after I royally pissed them off by destroying their book.

So when I'm done writing this entry, and I'm finished shitting myself in fear and jumping at any hint of noise, I'll head outside and make a run for the closest other shelter.

Should also mention that I've picked up some minor loot, to give this diary entry at least a _little _grounding in normal reality as I'm familiar with it.

I've picked up a copy of _Dean's Electronics _down here. First I've seen one of those in a while. I found a bottle of Quantum that I'm turning into three more grenades at soonest opportunity. And best of all... a bobblehead. A vault boy bobblehead, just like the ones I used to collect. Dedicated to melee weapons. And by sheer coincidence, that's the last one I need to complete my collection. I think that's God's way of saying "thank you and well done."

I hope He knows that I appreciate it.

**Day 213 Part 2: Hiding Out.**

I ran. I ran so fucking far last night. Something like 3AM, I ran up to the gates of Tenpenny Tower and demanded to be let in. They didn't recognise me as the Lone Wanderer, but they opened the gates and gave me refuge. I was promised safety and a room for the night. I took the offer. Locked the door up tight regardless, but I no longer fear bigoted ghoul assassins coming for me in the night.

I have seen true horror now. I will never know fear again.

In here... I've stayed here all day. And I'm fine in here. I'm not sure whose room this was. I think it was unoccupied the first time I ever came to the tower. It's not Burke's. I know that much. It was just an available room, and now it's become a sort of presidential suite that the ghouls rent out to rich clients like me, complete with its own robot butler. Reminds me a bit of Wadsworth, actually.

Tenpenny's room (the actual presidential suite) is now the room of the ghouls' new leader. Don't know his name, but he's a little more charismatic than Roy was. Doesn't seem as prejudiced, says hello when you pass him, and it looks like he's fairly well respected by the other ghouls in the tower. I'd much rather see him running the show here than another cunt like Roy Phillips.

Still kinda glad nobody here recognises me though.

**Day 214: I think I'm just going to ball up and cry here.**

I've decided to stay a few days at Tenpenny Tower.

I need time to get over that whole "demons and the occult are real, actively malevolent forces that have good reason to attempt to drive me mad or try to kill me now" thing.

I've started having recurring nightmares about the Dunwich Building, and I don't think I'm ready to start travelling again until they pass. I say "started having recurring nightmares" because the first time they happened the night before last, they were just regular nightmares. But then I had the same one last night. And now I've got a problem.

I'm really hoping I don't have PTSD. After all the horrors I've witnessed in the wasteland before now, it'd be a shame if a little thing like the revelation of ancient cosmic forces beyond my understanding actively fucking with the world was the thing that breaks me. I mean, I'm sure I've seen and done worse than that.

Actually no. No I haven't. That is pretty fucked.

**Day 215: Wasteland Therapy.**

The tower doctor gave me a looking at today. He's not that experienced in doing psychiatric evaluations, and probably isn't even as qualified as me, but I can't self-diagnose a condition, and I need outside opinions for that. So he gave it a shot and tried to give me some therapy as best he could.

Not sure if it's worked yet, because I've yet to go asleep. I doubt that the nightmares will go away that easily. But I do feel a little more relaxed during my waking state now. I think I just needed to talk to someone about what I saw, rather than writing about it to myself.

Kinda miss my old companions right now.

**Day 216: On the Mend.**

Hey, I was wrong. No nightmares about Dunwich last night. Granted, that's because I had a nightmare about my father dying again instead, but I've been having those for ages anyway, and I'm a lot more used to them.

Everything is fine again. Really. I am completely, utterly okay. I am a mentally sound individual.

**Day 216 Part 2: Just had this thought.**

I wonder if the little green aliens that were watching the planet or the people behind the U.S. government conspiracy dedicated to killing millions of Americans were ever aware of the secret society of demon worshippers living in our midst?

See what I did there? I combined three popular conspiracy theories that in the pre-war world were universally derided as over the top and ludicrously paranoid, and they're ALL FUCKING REAL, AND I'VE SEEN PROOF OF THEM ALL FIRST HAND. WHAT THE FUCKING HELL HAS MY LIFE BECOME?! WHEN DID THE WORLD STOP MAKING SENSE?! I CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE OF THIS BULLSHIT!

**Day 217: A Challenge Has Been Issued.**

Oh my God.

You think the hard times are finally over. You think you've seen the worst of it, that it can't possibly go further downhill, that everything has got to start getting better from here. And then some new asshole crawls out of the woodwork and starts wrecking your shit.

A man approached the front gates of the tower today. A man wearing nothing but a vault jumpsuit. He didn't come inside. He stopped at the gates, and requested of the ghouls if they could please let the Lone Wanderer know that the man who he stole from was outside waiting for him.

Today, I met the Puppet Man. And I've never had my ass kicked so hard before.

I'm running now. I'm running away as fast I can. I'm going to the Brotherhood of Steel first. I'll get Cross, Charon and a dozen of their best paladins and the entire Lyons' Pride. We'll go into D.C. and stop by Underworld to pick up Fawkes too, if we get the time. Then I'm going back to Megaton and getting the experimental MIRV.

And I hope and pray that it'll be enough.


	32. Week Thirty Two

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Thirty Two**

**Day 218: Fleeing.**

I don't think I got any sleep last night. That scary fucker was stalking me well into the AM. I spent the night in the Fairfax ruins. Hiding out rather than sleeping, mostly.

You see, one does not simply run away from a fight with the Puppet Man. He chases you, and he does it slow, but he's relentless. He walks towards you, knowing that you can't run forever because eventually you'll get tired and have to stop. He's like a robot, and he has the patience of a robot. Or an android.

Then when he gets to you, he fights like a fucking android too. I'm certain that he's flesh and blood, but he doesn't act like it. He moves like bloatfly and hits like a deathclaw. Power armour doesn't mean shit to him. He has no qualms with punching solid steel plating over and over again until the point that any normal man's fists would be reduced to crushed meat and bones. And not only does it not seem to hurt him, _he _actually injures _me _doing this. It's inhuman.

He'll dance around you in a circle and make it impossible to get a hit in, even with V.A.T.S. to help. Take out any kind of weapon, he'll disarm you immediately. Armour is meaningless to him and provides no protection, but he deliberately aims for armoured spots anyway. My head is completely unprotected, but he doesn't ever aim for it, because he knows he doesn't need to.

And all the time he fights you, he giggles like a fucking psycho and talks to his puppet, seeming to take advice from it on how to cause the maximum amount of pain. He's cracked, no doubt about it. The man is completely off his rocker. And he _terrifies me_.

You know, when we were in Fairfax, and I was ducking between buildings and using all my stealth skills to avoid him, I spotted an Enclave patrol. A rogue surviving group of Enclave soldiers in full armour and carrying plasma weapons. The Puppet Man took one look at them, and rushed straight over.

He had no weapons but his fists, no armour but his Vault 77 jumpsuit. He forfeited the element of surprise by screaming at them the moment he noticed their presence. And they had power armour of a much higher grade than mine, plus helmets and energy weapons.

He _massacred _them. I can still see the blood. Those guys were _torn limb from limb_.

Last night, I think he finally left and stopped searching Fairfax for me. Went in the direction of D.C. At daybreak today, I made a run for the Citadel, which is where I'm currently cowering. Cross, Charon and Dogmeat were all happy to see me again, though annoyed by the change of appearance, and Lyons and his people were just confused.

I've been explaining the situation to them, from Point Lookout to the Puppet Man, and they've put some of their best paladins on guard duty in case he comes by here. I wouldn't think it should take him long. Who wouldn't guess that I would run here? And I don't doubt for a second that he's capable of taking on Brotherhood of Steel paladins with his fists. He killed Enclave soldiers like that. Why would the Brotherhood be safe?

I know he's around the area too. I passed by some wasteland merchant at the Nuka-Cola plant on the way here who said he saw him. It's only a matter of time before he comes for me again. And I'm so horribly unprepared for that onslaught.

On a positive note though, the Brotherhood have been doing well without me since I left. Still collecting super mutant blood samples and parts for repairing Liberty Prime, but they've been getting other volunteers to help with that. I hear Fawkes even contributed some blood for their experiments. That was nice of him.

You know, Fawkes would probably be right at home in the Brotherhood of Steel. If we could adapt a suit of power armour for him to wear, I think that would push the Brotherhood from "Capital Wasteland faction" to "sovereign nation" overnight. Fawkes is already the most hideously overpowered thing currently alive. Just imagine what he'd be like with power armour as well. Maybe even some cybernetic implants?

Actually, that's a terrible idea and bound to end badly. What am I thinking?

**Day 218 Part 2: Fan.**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**[Footsteps.]**

**Woman 11: **Excuse me? Um... Lone Wanderer?

**Lone Wanderer:** That's me.

**Woman 11: **Sorry. Heh. Kind of a big fan.

**Lone Wanderer:** Oh?

**Woman 11: **Yeah... I was wondering if I could get your... um...

**Lone Wanderer:** Certainly. **[Scratching pen.]** Who am I making this out to?

**Woman 11: **Sylvia. **[Scratching pen.]**

**Lone Wanderer:** "To my favourite fan... Sylvia. The Lone Wanderer."

**Sylvia: **Thanks.

**Lone Wanderer:** Always a pleasure to meet a fan.

**Sylvia: **Oh no, the pleasure's all mine! You've no idea how much of an inspiration you were to me.

**Lone Wanderer:** Do tell?

**Sylvia: **You were what made us join the Brotherhood, you know. Me and my sister, I mean. She's just a squire... far too young for any of this war business. But it's a better life for her. We used to live out in the northwest. North of Little Lamplight and the super mutants, south of Raven Rock and the Enclave. We eked out an existence, day to day. Listened to GNR out of boredom, and turned it off whenever Three Dog reported something too gruesome for my little sister to hear. Just like mom and dad would have wanted.

**Lone Wanderer:** Mhmm.

**Sylvia: **And then you showed up, out of that vault. Disarming the Megaton bomb, killing raiders and slavers and super mutants, destroying those Outcasts for the Brotherhood... You saved Canterbury Commons and Big Town, you solved the Rivet City murders, destroyed Paradise Falls and Evergreen Mills, ended Talon Company, got the ghouls into Tenpenny Tower... There was only so much we could listen to all of it. When you disappeared for those two weeks you were captured by the Enclave, we had to step up and do something. So we joined the Brotherhood of Steel, hoping to help fix the wasteland, just like you were doing.

**Lone Wanderer:** Yeah... I am pretty awesome.

**Sylvia: **And you're so young too! I know Three Dog was calling you "kid" from day one, but that's how he talks about everyone. But then when he actually mentioned you were a teenager, I was like "whaaaaat?!" And that's also kinda why I had to help. Because if you were already saving the whole wasteland at nineteen, I had no excuse. Won't lie, I was kinda picturing an older guy all covered in scars and built like a super mutant.

**Lone Wanderer:** Well, I'm glad to be an inspiration to you. You're doing good work here, Sylvia. Brotherhood are good people. It's why I help them too. Hell, maybe one day you and I will be put on a mission together?

**Sylvia: **Oh, thank you! And, um... Could you actually do another autograph for my sister too? She's eleven now. She's called Bella.

**Lone Wanderer:** Of course. **[Scratching pen.]** ...And there we go.

**Sylvia: **Thanks again.

**Lone Wanderer:** No problem. **[Fast footsteps.]**

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **Boss! **[Panting.]** He's here!

**Lone Wanderer:** He?! What 'he'?! Who is 'he'?! BE SPECIFIC!

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **The...! **[Panting.]** The Puppet Man!

**Lone Wanderer:** What is he doing?! What the FUCK is he DOING, CHARON!?

**Sylvia: **Woah...

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **He's just... **[Panting.]** standing by the gates, boss. He says he wants in. One of the paladins tried to tell him you weren't taking visitors. **[Panting.]** Threatened him. Said he had to leave. **[Panting.]** Guy's dead now. Other paladin ran away to warn the rest of us. **[Gasping.]** What are we gonna do?!

**Lone Wanderer:** He's only here for me. I'm going to get him away from here. There's no reason the Brotherhood needs to die protecting me. He's only slowly following me anyway. I can outrun him, once I get past him.

**Sylvia: **You're running away from a guy? Why? Who are you two even talking about?

**Lone Wanderer:** The most dangerous man you will ever meet, and not someone I want to fight. So I'm not going to. Not until I get some far better weapons, anyway.

**Sylvia: **B-But you're the Lone Wanderer! You can take him... right?

**Lone Wanderer:** I'm sorry, but I really can't.

**Sylvia: **But...

**Lone Wanderer:** I know it's cowardly of me, but I can't fight this man, and I decided that I like living. I don't want to die over whatever he wants from me, and I don't want others to die either. So I'm going to run and hide, and don't try to put me on a pedestal like I'm infallible and this guy stands no chance. You make someone into an idol, and you forget that they're human. And that's what this guy reminds me of. I am so _very _human, and so _very _fallible.

**Sylvia: **...Wanderer...

**Lone Wanderer:** Charon, put your helmet on, get Cross and Dogmeat, tell them that we're leaving. We need to find Fawkes and get back to Megaton where the rest of my armoury is. There _might_ be something there that I can use to fight this guy... anything.

**Charon: [Deep, gravelly voice.] **On it! **[Fast footsteps.]**

**Sylvia: **You can't though! You're the Lone Wanderer!

**Lone Wanderer:** I'm sorry. **[Footsteps.]**

**Day 218 Part 3: Rivet City.**

The Puppet Man nearly killed me again. Once I left the Citadel, I confronted him by the riverside. My companions didn't help fight him. As per my instructions, Charon and Cross instead took Dogmeat and swam across the River Potomac. It's the fastest way to get to Rivet City, even if it is fucking cold, and I was at least fairly sure that the Puppet Man wouldn't follow us that way.

He beat the shit out of me. I got a few blows in at one point, but they weren't that effective. He insists on fighting hand to hand, or at least at close range. No guns. And he's far too nimble to hit with guns anyway. Or anything, for that matter. He's not impossible to strike, but hurting him is rare and it's never worth the effort it takes. I'd never be able to pull off a paralyzing palm on this guy, that's for sure.

I tried to be sneaky this time though. I carried out a Nuka grenade with me, and tried to set it off in my hand. Borrowed a power helmet from the Brotherhood to shield my face, ordered Margaret to pump me up with Med-X and prepare stimpaks for immediate injection, and I released the pin and held it up as he came in close.

Then like a shot, he ripped off my power helmet, snatched the live grenade out of my hand, and stuffed it down the neck of my armour. It fell down into the left leg section and exploded.

My leg is _gone_, replaced with a bloody stump that's probably infected by now. The leg of the armour broke off and fell into the river. The rest of the suit was damaged pretty bad, and won't hold out much longer. Margaret barely has enough reserve power to stay online. And all the Med-X and stimpaks in the world aren't numbing the pain.

I fell over backwards into the river, purely by chance. That had been my escape plan before. Swim away like my companions and head for Rivet City. They were waiting for me on the opposite shore, and were shocked that I was still up and going. Leaning on their shoulders, I hopped my way to Rivet City, where I am now.

The Puppet Man I think decided to walk around the river. It gave us enough time. A quick reintroduction of myself to Harkness, and I employed his help. I'm calling in a favour from the android. When the Puppet Man comes, and he _will _come, Harkness will protect me. By fighting if necessary, but I've told him to attempt to convince him that I'm not in the city, and to allow him to search if he doesn't believe him.

And I'm going to hide. Because that's the one thing I can beat him at. I'm stealthy enough that he can't find me when I'm really trying to avoid him. While I'm here, I'm thinking of getting Butch in on the action too. I'm reassembling the old team. I need all the firepower I can get in this situation.

Please be enough.

**Day 219: Screw Medical Science - Praise Atom!**

Got almost no sleep at all last night. Harkness was able to convince the Puppet Man that we weren't here, and he wandered off into the D.C. ruins. For all his scary fighting skill, I'm glad that he can at least be fooled.

I've spent the day undergoing radiation therapy. I considered seeing if I can deliberately trigger the effect I've dubbed the nuclear anomaly again, because whenever I do it seems to regenerate lost flesh and close wounds pretty effectively. That'd certainly work for regrowing my leg. In the end though, I decided that the slow and painful method was better.

I don't like that process. It changes my physical appearance every time it happens, and you never quite know what you're gonna get. This is the third body I've had in just a few months, and I want to spend some time with it before I lose this one too. So I'm going to also try to avoid any more near death experiences. No more getting overwhelmed by swampfolk, and no letting myself get executed again. The next time I die, I want it to be of old age, damnit.

The radiation therapy has been working though. My leg has been slowly growing back all day, inch by inch. The good doctor has also been taking a look at me again to check that I'm alright in other areas.

He says that my mutations have remained constant even despite the whole rest of my body going through two complete genetic overhauls. He suspects that the nuclear anomaly recognises them as beneficial and is actively protecting them.

In contrast, the cybernetics underneath my flesh have been getting a raw deal. They're still there, still hanging on, and even still functional, but the process has been doing its utmost to burn them up and get rid of them. They've sustained damage at any rate, and I've been told that another two or three anomalies will probably disintegrate them completely.

Yet another reason to avoid further change. I know I resented them initially for being put in me without my consent, but you know what? Those cybernetics were there all through the tough times, and I'm probably better off with them than without them.

Anyway. My leg's getting close to healed now, but we'll probably stay the night again. Tomorrow though, we'll have to head out to meet up with Fawkes. Butch is coming with us. He didn't really want to, but I need him for this. I need the help. We've got to stop an unstoppable man.

With our fists.

**Day 220: Running Theme.**

We headed into the ruins to make our way to Underworld earlier today, and we had several more close encounters with that crazy fuck, but fortunately he was easy to lose in the metro tunnels. _Un_fortunately, he knew exactly where we were going, so losing him didn't help much.

We reached Underworld just fine and got Fawkes back on the team, and he's just as badass as he ever was. Sadly for us, still not a match for the Puppet Man. When he showed up in the Mall looking for us, Fawkes decided to take up the challenge for me. Gatling lasers first, but he missed every shot right up until the Puppet Man ran up and disarmed him. Super sledge next, and that was knocked out of his hands in minutes. And then came the fist fight.

Ever seen Fawkes in a fist fight? It's quite magnificent. He can punch through solid brick walls when he wants to. And today I saw him punch the Puppet Man with that force. It got him to stagger a bit, before he rushed up and decked Fawkes in the face in response and achieved the same result. This man hasn't just got super mutant level strength, he's got _behemoth _level strength.

Fawkes and him were an even match. I'm not sure who was actually winning when I ordered my friend to stop and come with me. Together we ran off into the D.C. ruins again and lost the Puppet Man once more. After having gone through this place so many times, I know the ruins and the metro tunnels like the back of my hand.

We came across a group of raiders at Dupont Circle, a rare sight nowadays, but left them alone. Even though they were shooting at us, I thought it'd be a good idea to leave them alive. The Puppet Man was coming our way after all, and it'd help to have the raiders there as another obstacle. It might have slowed him down a _bit_.

We cleared the ruins fast enough though, and managed to make it all the way to Chryslus before the Puppet Man left too, ensuring that he never saw us come here and thus wouldn't think to look in this place for us. He walked off towards Megaton, correctly predicting that that is where we're heading, but we aren't going there until tomorrow.

We need sleep, and here is as safe as anywhere. As long as we do it in shifts. Got some decent food too. Found a dead wastelander on our way in. He was killed by radroaches, and was carrying lots of food on him, so fortunately we're not going hungry tonight. Sad that he died, but that's the wasteland for you.

I still need to strategize how I'm going to stop this guy though. He's been so far resistant to every attempt to kill him. He walks slow when pursuing me, but he can move insanely fast when he wants to. So much so that nobody can hit him with guns or grenades from a distance. And if he isn't at a distance, then he'll destroy you.

I need the MIRV. That's the only thing that'll kill him. I need to get the MIRV, get really far away from him, and just spray the whole area with mini nukes again and again and hope that he dies. There's literally nothing else I can think of that'll have even a small chance.

**Day 221: Coming to a Head.**

Had another confrontation with the Puppet Man.

We ran for Megaton in the early morning. He'd already come and gone according to Simms, so we stayed for as long as we could. I put the last bobblehead on the rack while I was here. I'm glad to have finally completed my collection. It feels right to see them all together. Separated centuries ago by Vault-Tec, and now back under one roof again. All is as it should be.

Except for that fucking psycho still hunting me, but that's besides the point.

Well anyway, I got out all my most damaging stuff. MIRV, Fatman, Miss Launcher, and Eugene. I gave each of my companions one of them. Fawkes got the MIRV, Cross got the minigun, Charon got the missile launcher and Butch got the Fatman. Not all of them have the necessary experience to use those weapons effectively, but I'm not looking for anything precise. Their job is to just spray an area the size of a football field with death and explosions.

And for myself, I picked out an "unarmed" style weapon, since that's the style of confrontation the Puppet Man insists on. I considered one of my power fists, like Fisto or the Shocker, or possibly even the deathclaw gauntlet, but I figured that he'd have no trouble disarming me of those just like he would any melee weapon or helmet. So instead I decided on a pair of spiked knuckles I took from that asshole Plunket in Arlington Cemetery. Not so easily removed.

I got to test them out when he came to the Megaton gates to fight me again though. I still got beat down pretty hard, but the few times when I did hit him, I got him to display signs of pain. Fawkes achieved the same before, but this is a first for me. I still haven't a hope in Hell against him in a straight fight, but I won't need to have a straight fight with him again if all works out.

Obviously, that close to Megaton was no place to enact the plan. So it was mostly a fight to get them away. We've decided that we're going to set up the ambush in Jury Street Metro Station, south of here. We're hiding in Vault 106 right now. That place is uninhabited and the area around it is open. We can go crazy out there all we like.

I did confirm one thing though. I know why he's trying to kill me. That Vault 77 jumpsuit I found in Paradise Falls? It's not in my locker anymore, and my other possessions have been disturbed. At some point while I was away in Point Lookout, he came in here and took it back, just like the slavers feared he would come to take it back from them.

And they feared what he would do to them for having it. Now he's doing it to me. This is payback for "stealing" his jumpsuit. Crazy fucking bastard. I'm not letting him kill me over his own insanity and possessiveness.

Tomorrow, the Puppet Man dies.

**Day 222: Failure.**

Jury Street didn't turn out so well.

First, on our arrival there we were spotted by an Enclave eyebot. This one was acting as a scout, and it called in a vertibird with a bunch of Enclave troops who tried to kill us. Another lot of stragglers who survived my multiple massacres. Why these guys thought they had a chance I don't know, but they didn't make things easy for us.

The commotion caused by them flying in and the resulting explosion drew real attention to us. The Puppet Man found out where we were thanks to those guys, and found us without having to do as much searching as usual. He came in fast. We had barely any time to prepare the plan, but we executed it, and it didn't work.

Just for the record, I'm not saying that he survived a bombardment of dozens of mini nukes and fire from a missile launcher and minigun. He just outran the explosion.

And then he kicked my ass again while we continued to run away. I need to stop humouring him and actually having these fight fights when he catches up to us. It's not like he ever gives chase at any significant speed. If I just kept running instead of periodically standing my ground like an idiot, as I did outside of Megaton and the Citadel, he wouldn't keep fucking me up.

Anyway, we fled through a canyon to try and escape. Would have gotten away a lot easier were it not that I found a few wastelanders and former slaves that were about to come to blows over a supply of water. I could have just left them to it, but I had to defuse the situation and get them to share. He nearly caught up with me again while I was doing that. Too risky. Shouldn't have been so foolish. Curse my good nature.

We stopped by Fort Bannister on our way out. Just briefly. It's a Brotherhood outpost, so he'd obviously come looking for us there. We just dropped off all the ineffective heavy weapons and asked the local paladins to return it to Megaton when they could. That way, we're not dragged down trying to carry all this with us.

Currently, we're hiding in Everglow. The camp grounds. Again, we're sleeping in shifts.

I had wanted to stay the night at Jalbert Brothers Waste Disposal instead, because unlike the campgrounds there's an actual building there we can stay in, and I've never been able to sleep in the open, though right now I'm gonna have to try anyway. We couldn't though. Partially because of a very territorial scavenger pulling parts off a robot there, who thought we were trying to steal his claim, and partially because of the radiation.

Still not sure what I would have preferred. Sleeping in radiation, or sleeping out in this miserable weather. Both are equally unappealing in my eyes, but we went with this one because it's less likely to kill me. Spending significant time in radiation is a death sentence, after all.

**Day 222 Part 2: Hold On.**

I know how to beat him.

**Day 223: Final Fight.**

This could very well be my last entry. I know I've said that many times before and then somehow survived whatever I was expecting to finish me, but I feel I should note whenever it's a possibility. Today, I'm going to solve my final problem. This Puppet Man needs to die, and there's a 50/50 chance that this will be what does it. However, it might require me to go down with him.

I told my friends to all go to different places. They think they're a part of the plan. They're not really though.

I told Butch to take Dogmeat and go back to the Brotherhood at Fort Bannister. He's been given the duty of protecting my dog from harm, and he has no complaints about that. And Cross I sent off with Charon. I told them to both go to Shalebridge. Fed them some BS about Lesko developing something that could help end the Puppet Man, but that I needed to set it up here. Made them think it was some kind of superweapon I commissioned from him.

"This moment has been prepared for," I told them.

And Fawkes... Well, Fawkes can stay. He's immune to radiation, so he'll be alright. I mean, Charon is too, but he'll turn into a glowing one out in this. I need Fawkes here as insurance, to collect my body and tell the others what happened if I die, and to drag me out of here if I somehow live. But he will stay out of this fight. It's my battle to win or lose.

As I write this, the Puppet Man is approaching in the distance. He'll take a few minutes to get here, but when he does, I'm going to run right out into the wretched heart of Vault 87, or the surface area above it anyway. This is the most irradiated location in the Capital Wasteland, and there is no doubt in my mind that he will follow in after me.

What will happen then? Knowing my luck he'll just become a ghoul, transform into a glowing one, and then have even more ways to kill me horribly while gaining a healing factor stronger than mine. I'm taking a gamble doing this. But if I'm very lucky, if the _kilograms _worth of Rad-X I've swallowed hold out, if the Puppet Man has the right genes and the stars align and God is smiling on me, he will collapse and die from radiation poisoning before I do.

One last fight in the radiation. The moment my entire life was leading up to. And it's all for nothing. Seriously. Why the fuck is this happening? There aren't any stakes here! I'm not fighting for the future of the wasteland anymore! No lives other than mine depend on this! This is completely and utterly pointless!

Oh my God! I'm going to_ die_! _I'm actually going to die over a fucking jumpsuit_!

I'm Lug-Nut!

**Day 223 Part 2: [ENTER NAME].**

Audio file embed. Automatic transcription as follows.

**[Geiger counter ticking.][Footsteps.]**

**Man 28: **Wanderer.

**Lone Wanderer:** Puppet Man.

**Puppet Man: **He's standing his ground again, what should we do? Kill him! It's him or us! You know why he has to die! You know what he did! Kill him like you killed that king!

**Lone Wanderer:** You're crazy, man. You're a fucking lunatic.

**Puppet Man: **Hey, buddy, YOU'RE the one standing in radiation!

**Lone Wanderer:** So are you!

**Puppet Man: **Oh yeah.

**Lone Wanderer:** Look, man. Just help me understand this. I want to know. You've got your vault jumpsuit back. I said I'm sorry I took it. Why can't you _just let it go_?!

**Puppet Man: **It's not me, man. It's the puppet. He's the one calling the shots. **[Whispering.]** He's killed before.

**Lone Wanderer:** The vault boy puppet?

**Puppet Man: **Yes. You know what they're like. Those vault boys. You're a vault boy. I mean... You grew up in a vault, didn't you? **[Singsong voice.]** Like meeeeeee!

**Lone Wanderer:** Wasteland born, I'm afraid. But I did live in a vault. 101, by Megaton. You know it?

**Puppet Man: **He's a heretic. He's a filthy heretic. Not a vault boy at all. He doesn't know what we do. And he stole from us. From YOU! Yes, your jumpsuit. And from me. Mmm... yes... Stole the book.

**Lone Wanderer:** Book?

**Puppet Man: **Stole, AND DESTROYED! VANDAL!

**Lone Wanderer:** Puppet Man, listen to me! Before we fight, I still have questions! Can we stop for a minute?!

**Puppet Man: **Don't listen to him! Yes, of course we can. What?

**Lone Wanderer:** The puppet. What does he call himself?

**Puppet Man: **AH! My secret name! He wants to know my secret name!

**Lone Wanderer:** His secret name? Does he tell you his secret name? Are you special to him, Puppet Man?

**Puppet Man: **Oh yes. Very special. Partners in crime, me and him. He told me his secret name. He gave me so many gifts. Protected me from the slavers. Taught me to fight. Gave me strength. Gave me long life. He tamed me a giant ant, and I rode him all across the wasteland. I called him Mister Pinch.

**Lone Wanderer:** Secret name...

**Puppet Man: **He told me your secret name, too.

**Lone Wanderer:** What?

**Puppet Man: **The one you hide. The one he hides! **[Giggling.]** Calling himself the Wanderer. Three incarnations, yes? You are the third one, guardian of the Capital Wastes. But there are others. Ones that should have been. That could have. You know of Chicago? Of Texas? There could have been ones there. There _have _been ones in California. There will yet be more, further afield. In the west, the lights of Vegas beckon even now, and your fellow nobles pine for you.

**Lone Wanderer:** Vegas?

**Puppet Man: **Oh! But history will not remember his name! It will not remember who you truly were! The legend of the Wanderer will spread, but just as you wish, your secret name will be dead to history. Just as well, considering what that name means to others... Another tyrant made it famous already, though like you, to him it is a secret name. Just a secret that more know.

**Lone Wanderer:** _What_?

**Puppet Man: **Your uncle lives still. He would _love _you.

**Lone Wanderer:** You're seriously giving me the fucking creeps, puppet guy. How do you know all this about me?

**Puppet Man: **I told you, man! It's the puppet! Don't ask _me _questions, ask _him_!

**Lone Wanderer:** Alright then, Puppet. Give me your secret name.

**Puppet Man: [Singsong voice.]** Ah ah ah. That would be telling!

**Lone Wanderer:** Okay, fine. I don't think I need you to tell me. I think I know it anyway.

**Puppet Man: [Hissing.]**

**Lone Wanderer:** Oh yes, I know you! I know what YOU are! Eldritch creature, I name you, Ug-Qualtoth!

**Puppet Man: **Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

**Lone Wanderer:** Well? Am I right?

**Puppet Man: **Not my place to say.

**Lone Wanderer:** I'm right.

**Puppet Man: **YOU ARE STILL IGNORANT! And don't think that you can win against me, just because you are more than merely human! I am eternal! Your people were not.

**Lone Wanderer:** My people live in their vault, safe and sound, because I saved them. Just as Point Lookout and the regions beyond live safe from your creepy fucking cult after I killed those swampfolk and burned that book. You don't scare me, monster, because I do the Lord's work! I am an instrument of His divine vengeance, and I will slay you!

**Puppet Man: **You do THE lord's work? Surely you mean _a_ lord's work? There are many lords on this world alone. I already told you that they're calling for you. Can't you hear them in your head?

**Lone Wanderer:** I...

**Puppet Man: **That little whispering? Your kin from nations long dead, longing to be with you again? If you listen closely, you might even hear the sound of a father long lost, telling of his pride...

**Lone Wanderer:** ...Dad?

**Puppet Man: **Once. A different man now, surely.

**Lone Wanderer:** ...No. I am NOT falling for your tricks! Puppet Man, I'm sorry that you were consumed by this thing, whatever he is, but I think you're beyond my ability to save now. And I... I think... I think I need to go through you to stop him.

**Puppet Man: **This mortal is my champion, but I can live without him. You would be a far better prize. A shame that you did not stay in Dunwich a little longer. I could have fashioned you into a weapon to kill _worlds_. Do you ever look at the stars above you, and wonder just where you could go with that ship of yours?

**Lone Wanderer:** I do, but I don't think it matters anymore. Come here.

**Puppet Man: **Agh! Man, not cool. Get off me. Stop with the hugging. It's gay.

**Lone Wanderer:** Are you feeling that yet, Puppet Man?

**Puppet Man: **I am feeling... a little woozy...

**Lone Wanderer:** Radiation getting to you?

**Puppet Man: **Aw, man... This isn't how I wanted to die.

**Lone Wanderer:** Me neither, buddy.

**Puppet Man: **Are you at least gonna stay with me?

**Lone Wanderer:** Sure.

**Puppet Man: **Thanks...

**Lone Wanderer:** Hey, Qualie? What now?

**Puppet Man: **You know this doesn't impede me. I already said, I can live without my champion. You have set me back, but I will endure. I have allies in the north still, and elsewhere. I have contingencies. I can train up a new champion.

**Lone Wanderer:** But I'm willing to bet that this is the last the Capital Wasteland will be seeing of you for a long time.

**Puppet Man: **...Grrr... Your kind always were a pain in my neck.

**Lone Wanderer:** Well, whoever "my kind" are, I'm glad to be carrying on the tradition. **[Gasping.]** Oh, radiation sickness... It's like greeting an old friend...

**Puppet Man: **The third Wanderer dies in the radiation. How appropriate. I predict that your fourth self will be your longest lived and most beloved.

**Lone Wanderer:** Well, how nice of you, Qualtoth.

**Puppet Man: **You still antagonise me by speaking that name, when you still know not if it is even mine. It is most unwise.

**Lone Wanderer:** Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Oh boy... Here it comes...

**Puppet Man: **Hey, man? Why are you glowing? I didn't know radiation really did that.

**Lone Wanderer:** Hey, can you do me a favour?

**Puppet Man: **Anything.

**Lone Wanderer:** Pass me your puppet? I wanna play with him too.

**Puppet Man: **Oh, sure. Here you go. Be careful with— **[Fabric tearing.]** HEY!

**Lone Wanderer:** Sorry. I lied. I don't like puppets.

**Puppet Man: **Man, you're a dick.

**Lone Wanderer:** **[Laughing.]** If you thought that was bad, you ain't seen nothing yet! Here comes the kaboom, and another glorious rebirth! Eat nuclear power, freakshow! **[Explosion.][Geiger counter picks up.][Laughing.][Thumping.]**

**Man 29: [Laughing.]** Rest in pieces, Puppet Man! **[Laughing.][Coughing.]** Agh! Goddamn radiation! **[Coughing.]** Fuck! **[Gasping.]** Oh Jesus... Rad-X... purged from my system... Need to get my... my bags... Fawkes...

**Day 224: [ENTER NAME].**

ENTRY NOT FOUND.


	33. Week Thirty Three

**Wanderer's Diary: Week Thirty Three**

**Day 225: I Awaken.**

OH BEAUTIFUL WORLD, AREN'T YOU GLAD TO HAVE ME BACK?!

Another brush with death, another miraculous survival. My dear friend Fawkes is literally a lifesaver. I don't know what I'd do without him, but he helped me out of a sticky situation once again. My plan worked though! The Puppet Man is dead, I took down that thing that was using him, and I came out of there a new man.

Quite a handsome new man, if I do say so myself. A lighter skin tone than before, but still darker than my original shade. Fresh stubble for that rugged wasteland look. Well defined jaw. Nice brown eyes. And my hair is exactly as long as it should be, if a bit unkempt. Good thing I know a good barber.

Wasteland can't keep me down though. Reborn again, and I'm ready for more adventures. I just wonder what's left for me to do though. Take up work for the Brotherhood of Steel maybe? Go up to my spaceship and explore the stars? Investigate that trenchcoat weirdo who's still following me? Research the anomaly some more? See if I can get Sarah Lyons in the sack?

Maybe I could even travel a little further out. Maybe head up north and see about dismantling the rest of Qualtoth's cult, or go west and look into what's going down in Vegas.

Hell, I'd settle for just finding out what happened to Paulson after he left Zeta.

All projects for the future though. I can worry about all of those things later. Yes, there are plenty of mysteries left for me to solve, but that's the beauty of life, isn't it? There WILL always be new adventures, and that's glorious! I love life!

And I think that's amazing. That after all I've been through, I can still enjoy everything. There were dark moments these past few months. I would have thought that I'd come out of this experience a bitter, cynical wreck of a man. And I am cynical, but not like "old guy" cynical. Cynical in the same way a sarcastic teenager is, and wouldn't you know it, that's exactly what I am!

I've had time to reflect on everything since I woke up this morning. Looking back at my actions these past few months, one thing is clear to me. I am definitely a mentally damaged individual. There are a number of things wrong with me. I wouldn't eat people otherwise. Not that I do much of that anymore, but whatever.

What I take away from the experience though, is that fucked up though I may be, I can live with everything that I've done. The guilt doesn't weigh so heavy anymore, and I can live life as a person instead of an emotionally dead husk like I could have been. And you know, if I can do that, and I'm not hurting anybody (that doesn't deserve it), then it can't be bad.

I wonder what's in the future for me? Does my story end here? Well... Maybe not. After all, it could have ended several times already. The deathclaw attack by Agatha's house, my suicide, the purifier, the Enclave execution, Adams, Point Lookout, Dunwich, the Puppet Man... All things that could have ended me, and yet still I endure. And I shall continue after this.

And what might the future hold for all the people I've met? My companions? The various factions I've interacted with? The towns I've saved or wiped out or started? The future is so uncertain for all of them. No way of telling how things will turn out. But I've done all I can for them, so I'm optimistic. Maybe the Capital Wasteland will be alright.

But whichever way it goes, whether this really is the end of my story and I go on to do nothing in particular and die in an unremarkable way some time in the distant future, or if I still have many years of adventuring ahead of me, I feel this is at least an ending to _something_. A conclusion to a chapter of my life that I'll look back on fondly one day.

Because despite it all, despite the horror that I've seen out here, and the injuries I've sustained, and how much I've changed, I want to say it now so that I have it on record:

These have been the best few months of my life.

And now, diary, if you don't mind, that bearded weirdo who hugged me and sent me to Point Lookout is waving to me from a nearby hill, and I want to go over there and find out who the hell he is.

And after that, I'm going to D.C. to see Reilly, because after nearly dying in the radiation by Vault 87, I actually managed to legitimately get the location tag for it, and I want to go over there and collect the thirty caps I'm owed for finally completing my map of the Capital Wasteland.

YES, I _AM _THAT PETTY. SHUT UP.

I AM THE LONE FUCKING WANDERER.

* * *

**A/N:**

Final regular entry. The docs version closed off with a song link, but that's not possible here, so instead I will tell you to look up "The Wanderer" by Dion on YouTube.


	34. Courier's Journal

**Courier's Journal:**

**October 10th, 2281:**

Hey, journal. Just a quick update. Got another job today. I'm supposed to carry some platinum chip all the way up to New Vegas. Doesn't sound all that remarkable, but you haven't seen the pay for this one. I'd be crazy not to take this job! I admit though, my suspicions are aroused. If it's worth this much to deliver, it's gotta mean there'll be some challenge to it.

Should I expect trouble? I don't know. I'll keep my wits about me though. You never know in the Mojave.

**Killed: **A radscorpion.

**Today's dinner: **Cram and beer. Eugh.

**Had sex with: **My hand.

* * *

**A/N:**

Well, that's it. Story over. It's been quite a ride. Most of a year was spent writing this. Those of you following this story on may not know that, given that this has only been on there a short time, but my followers from Fimfiction who've been following this ever since I first started writing it on Google docs know how long it's been, and how momentous an occasion it is that I've finally completed it.

I think this also marks the first story I've ever completed that isn't a oneshot.

A big thanks to those of you who stuck with me through it all and actually read and enjoyed my crappy comedy. Thanks to Draven Eclipse, my bro, who read through the early chapters before his work schedule took away all his free time and whose laughter and reactions made it all worth it. Thanks to Spiffy, who thankfully never got a job and remained a worthless leech on society, but whose continued reading and commenting were always fun.

And thanks to the Dark Lord Potter forums, who became the first guys that I know of to discover this story and talk about it outside of one of the sites where it is hosted, and also provided actual critical analysis of it, neither of which happens to me often. *Sigh* One day someone will make a TV Tropes page for one of my stories. One day...

It was fun to write while it lasted though. Short enough that I could get it done easily and without bother, but also fun to plan out and write. Because believe it or not, none of this story is actually based on any playthrough of mine. I planned everything that happened in the story based on my memory of the game and with minor help from the _Fallout_ wikia, and the order of events and how they went down was mostly based on what I thought would be funny or interesting as I wrote it. Gonna miss it.

I'm not going to start work on _Courier's Journal_ for a while yet, but follow me on or watch me on Fimfiction and you'll know when it's coming. Or if you need more _Fallout_ stuff right now, I've also written a _Fallout 1_ story called _Vault Dweller's Log_ that's in the same continuity, and a _Doctor Who_ crossover called _The Doctor and the Master_ that acts as a companion piece to it, the latter of which also ties into _Wanderer's Diary_. Scroll down a little if you're on the Google docs version index, or find them from my page if you're on .

But anyway. Thanks again to all of you, hope you enjoyed reading, and I'll see you again when I write my next story.

Adios.

-DJ.


End file.
